Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
1-2 2016
US ISSN 2381-7461
Contenido
7 Evangelismo público y 191 “The Cup that the Father has Given
posmodernismo: Desafíos para Me”: An Exegetical Study on John
alcanzar a la generación actual con 18:11 Héctor O. Martín
el evangelio eterno 201 El concepto paulino “en Cristo”
Pedro M. Canales Rubén Alcántara Maldonado
21 El desarrollo espiritual en la iglesia 215 Nerva and Revelation 1:9 – The End
Javier Mejía Mejía of the Patmos Captivity
31 Desarrollo espiritual progresivo: Carlos G. Molina
Una tarea de Dios para la familia 223 Another Look at the Seven Churches
Annia Esther Vives Iglesias in the Book of Revelation: Seven
59 Permanecer en la fe o apostatar: Historical Epochs of the Universal
Factores que influyen en los Church in Rev 2-3 and the OT
miembros recién convertidos Allusions Alexsandar S. Santrac
durante su primer año de vida 243 Una nota sobre el uso de nasah en el
cristiana Luis A. Morales P. AT a la luz del conflicto cósmico (Gn
83 Generadores y detractores del 22) Karl Boskamp
Igle-crecimiento: el impacto del 255 God’s Presence: Holiness and
compromiso personal y la Covenant in Exodus 19
identidad social en la tarea Emmer Chacón
misionera José L. Jiménez N.
281 La signification de la Bénédiction
101 Une Discipline Ecclésiastique dans Nombres 6:22-27 Une étude
toute pastorale selon Matthieu exégétique-théologique
13:24-30, 36-43 Luca Marulli Rodolfo Segorbé
113 La Cristo-Centralidad de las 303 Deities of Nineveh: A Look at the
Escrituras Adolfo Suárez Temple and Rituals of Ishtar of
129 The Husband-Wife Relationship Nineveh Abelardo Rivas
in the Scripture Ronald Rojas
155 The Tree of Life and Ethics:
Moral Vision in John’s Apocalypse
Larry L. Lichtenwalter 1 EDITORIAL
173 Hallazgo de una importante fuente Jorge Torreblanca
primaria para la historia del 319 RESEÑAS BIBLIOGRÁFICAS
adventismo en Latinoamérica: La 325 ACTIVIDAD ACADÉMICA
venida del Mesías en gloria y ma[j]estad, Making History with Study Tours to
tomo 4 (Londres: M. Belgrano, Cuba L. Fernando Ortiz
1816) con las notas de Francisco
329 RESÚMENES DE TESIS DE
Hermógenes Ramos Mejía
DOCTORADO EN MINISTERIO
Aecio E. Caïrus
TeoBiblica 2.1-2 – 2016
JORGE TORREBLANCA
Resumen
La definición posmoderna de la realidad ha anulado su objetividad y ha creado un
híper-espacio virtual impulsado por la televisión, las redes sociales, el internet y la
globalización. El lenguaje posmoderno celebra la apertura, tolerancia e inclusión, en
donde la intuición y las emociones (no la razón) son los caminos del conocimiento,
evitando los absolutos que la verdad reclama. En el cumplimiento de la misión
cristiana se ha de reenfocar la estrategia de evangelización, sin reducir ni diluir el
mensaje de la Escritura o de la fe al entretenimiento y lo superficial, y apuntar a
similitudes y compatibilidades, a vivir los principios bíblicos, desarrollar un ambiente
apropiado para amistades auténticas, interesarse por las necesidades prácticas, y dar
la oportunidad de creer a través de pertenecer a una comunidad que comparte, en
donde se habla y escucha.
Abstract
The postmodern understanding of reality has nullified its objectivity and has created
a virtual hyper-space promoted by the television, social networks, the internet and
globalization. The postmodern language celebrates openness, tolerance and
inclusion, where intuition and emotions (not reason) are the paths of knowledge,
avoiding the absolutes that truth claims. In the fulfillment of the Christian mission,
the strategy of evangelization must be refocused, without reducing or diluting the
Résumé
La compréhension postmoderne de la réalité l'a invalidée comme objectif et a créé
un hyper-espace virtuel grâce à la télévision, aux réseaux sociaux, à Internet et à la
mondialisation. La langue postmoderne parle d'ouverture, de tolérance et d'inclusion,
l'intuition et les émotions (et non la raison) sont les voies de la connaissance, évitant
les absolus que prétend la vérité. Dans la réalisation de la mission chrétienne, la
stratégie d'évangélisation doit être recentrée, sans réduire ni diluer le message de
l'Écriture ou de la foi au divertissement et à la superficialité, et viser des similitudes
et des compatibilités, vivre les principes bibliques, développer environnement
approprié pour des amitiés authentiques, intéressé par des besoins pratiques, et
donner l’opportunité de croire en faisant partie d’une communauté qui partage, où
vous parlez et écoutez.
Introducción
4 Michael Epstein, Mass Media Law: A Survey of Content and Culture (Lake Mary, FL: Vandeplas
Publishing, 2015).
5 Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death (New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1985), 78-79,
citado en Douglas Groothuis, Truth Decay (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2000), 282.
10 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Realidades virtuales
Postman afirmó que “la televisión ha logrado el estatus de medio-principal;
una institución que orienta no solo el conocimiento del mundo, sino también
6 Byrne McPhail, A Christian Response to PostModernity (New York, NY: Carter Press, 2001), 46.
Canales – Evangelismo público y posmodernismo 11
7 Lewis Drummond, Reaching Generation Next: Effective Evangelism in Today’s Culture (Grand
Rapids, MI: Baker Books), 33.
8 Jacques Ellul, The Humiliation of the Word, trad. Joyce Main Hanks (Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans, 1985), 142.
9 Justin Thacker, Post Modernism and the Ethics of Theological Knowledge (Aldershot, Inglaterra:
Routledge, 2007), 90.
10 Hewitt Roderick, “Evangelism as Discipleship”, International Review of Mission 103 (2014):
204.
12 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
11 Drummond, 100.
12 www.barna.com (accesado 29 agosto 2016). El grupo Barna, y su división de investigación,
es una firma independiente de consultoría y análisis cultural localizada en Ventura,
California, desde 1984. Ha realizado análisis e investigaciones para entender las tendencias
culturales relacionadas con valores, creencias, actitudes y conductas.
13 Christopher Butler, Postmodernity: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, Inglaterra: Oxford
University Press, 2002), 113.
Canales – Evangelismo público y posmodernismo 13
14 Richard Halverson, Evangelism and Postmodernism (Portland, ME: Gutleigh Press, 2007), 199.
15 Findley Best, Understanding the Motives of Post Modernism (Austin, TX: Rotary Press, 2011), 211.
Canales – Evangelismo público y posmodernismo 15
“crean”, entonces habrá que hacer que las personas se den cuenta de la verdad
y de las cosas que necesitan saber. Si el principio primordial de la
evangelización es “cómo se conducen”, entonces lamentablemente se
conseguirá que las personas se enfoquen en sí mismas y en sus hábitos
personales. En cambio, si el propósito primordial de la evangelización es que
las personas “pertenezcan”, entonces se facilitará que las personas se hagan
discípulos de Jesucristo y se los incorporará a la comunidad cristiana, y
compartiremos con ellos las bendiciones del compañerismo cristiano.
“‘Pertenecer antes de creer’ no significa que la persona es espiritualmente
incorporada en el cuerpo de Cristo en lugar de ser aceptada en un proceso de
transformación, lo cual comprende el trabajo del Espíritu Santo”.18
La comunidad y el misterio
El posmodernismo niega la existencia de Dios en el sentido bíblico, y rechaza
la realidad objetiva y el criterio objetivo de la verdad y la moral.19 Por lo tanto,
nunca se debe asumir que hay alguna compatibilidad teórica entre los puntos
de vista de la realidad del posmodernismo y el cristianismo. Si el filósofo
posmoderno habla en cuanto a Dios, ellos nos dicen lo que Dios es,
semejante a este mundo, algo virtual. Él no tiene derecho (dice Baudrillard) a
ser un criterio objetivo para nuestros pensamientos y vidas, porque Él está
en la esfera de la simulación. Consecuentemente, Dios en el mundo
posmoderno está completamente más allá de la ética y las obligaciones
morales. Hay sin embargo, algunos conceptos similares (no compatibles),
pero que son usados incompletamente en diferentes contextos. Tome por
ejemplo, las ideas de la comunidad y misterio a menudo señaladas como
compatibles con la cristiandad. “Cuando los filósofos posmodernos y los
teólogos hablan en cuanto al consentimiento comunal de la verdad, ellos
enfatizan la influencia cultural en nuestro conocimiento de la verdad. La
verdad es conocida exclusivamente dentro de la comunidad de alguien en
particular, la perspectiva de la comunidad es la única verdad conocida”. 20
Siendo que nuestra personalidad es siempre comunal, cada verdad que uno
acepta es siempre subjetiva o cultural. La verdad nunca es objetiva.
18 Jim Leffel y Dennis McCallum, The Death of Truth (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House
Publishers, 1996), 88.
19 Byrnne V. Cheney, Telling the Truth: A Report of the State of the Humanities in Higher Education
21 Brian Walsh, Reality Isn’t What It Used to Be (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994),
88.
22 Christine E. Sleeter, ed., Empowerment through Multicultural Education (Albany, NY: State of
Precaución en no comprometerse
Por lo tanto, es de crucial importancia no repetir el error de muchos cristianos
después de la “conversión” de Constantino. Los Padres de la Iglesia del siglo
IV dC no reconocieron que la evangelización de los paganos no es una
evangelización de una cultura parcialmente compatible. En lugar de ello, era
evangelización de la contra-cultura de la filosofía y mitología griega; lo cual
era radicalmente diferente de la verdad bíblica. Una mente tan privilegiada
como la de Agustín de Hipona cometió este tipo de error y creó una teología
filosófica que no estaba basada en la Biblia. Esto puede ser una forma de
liberalismo descuidado, del cual advierte Elena de White.
Las relaciones, la amistad, el amor y el cuidado de los demás son cruciales
para cada discípulo de Cristo, pero no solo de esto trata el cristianismo. Es
cierto que los posmodernistas quieren pertenecer y tener relaciones
profundas, pero no es cierto que su sentido de un sistema de creencias
necesariamente ocurra después de su sentido de pertenencia. El pertenecer y
el creer van juntos. En nuestros esfuerzos de evangelización se habrá de
alcanzar a las personas donde ellas están y no asumir que ellas pertenecen a
categorías definidas de gente a quienes se quiere evangelizar. Esa es la razón
por la cual a veces es delicado cuando se discute de evangelismo en un sentido
estratégico, porque cada estrategia es parcialmente humana y por lo tanto no
es infalible. Una estrategia de evangelización debería de apuntar hacia las
similitudes y compatibilidades con la cultura popular; sin embargo, si el
contenido de la fe cristiana es reducido a las expectativas de los
posmodernistas (o los modernos, o cualquier otro sistema de creencias), se
pone en peligro el mensaje de Cristo y el poder de la “verdad presente” que
se postula.
Si se utiliza lenguaje posmoderno o vocabulario no amenazante, no se deberá
hacerlo a expensas de la verdad tal como es revelada en la Palabra de Dios.
A veces se escucha que el crear relaciones íntimas (evangelismo de amistad)
23 Michel Foucault, Power/Knowledge (New York, NY: Pantheon Books, 1980), 132.
Canales – Evangelismo público y posmodernismo 19
tiene gran valor para el evangelismo público. Pero el hecho es que Cristo hizo
ambos. En nuestras estrategias humanas nunca se ha de disminuir las
estrategias de Cristo y sus definiciones de valor en la misión. El
posmodernismo ciertamente necesita evangelismo público y de persona a
persona en grupos pequeños con diferentes enfoques; todo con la intención
de alcanzar a las diferentes comunidades. Sin el evangelismo público, se corre
el peligro que los miembros piensen que la comunidad, el amor y las
relaciones son todo lo que tiene que ofrecer el cristianismo, porque así es
como la cristiandad lo está representando actualmente. Entonces, la iglesia se
convierte en un “cielo humanitario” seguro, con comodidad psicológica, que
otras agencias humanitarias pueden brindar igualmente. Pablo no fue un
desquiciado24 que viajó a través del imperio Romano principalmente para
“hacer amigos”. Lo hizo para predicar la verdad.
En el clima posmoderno actual, de apertura y tolerancia, las creencias se
convierten en barreras contra el diálogo genuino en cuanto a la verdad moral
y espiritual. Por ejemplo, abogados de ser políticamente correctos, tales como
Stanley Fish, han argumentado que siendo que todo discurso es un juego de
poder político, las ideas deben de ser monitoreadas y manejadas, no
comprometidas racional y constructivamente. De la misma manera, el
subjetivismo del posmodernismo también inhibe un compromiso profundo
con las creencias propias. Siendo que la fe está enraizada en asuntos prácticos
de gusto y experiencia personal, las personas tienden a adoptar y abandonar
sus creencias de acuerdo con las demandas del momento. Después de todo,
cuando la verdad es una creación humana en lugar de algo independiente de
nosotros mismos, podemos casualmente movernos hacia alguna “nueva
verdad” siempre que esta nos convenga.
En el evangelismo público, en la guerra frontal entre la verdad y el error, la
luz y las tinieblas, Cristo y Satanás, estamos de hecho involucrados en ganar
“territorio” para Cristo. En una contra-cultura se tendrá que utilizar la contra-
arma, es decir, el poder de la verdad de Cristo, con el amor y la amistad que
esta proclama. Esto es posible solamente a través de una total conversión y
un reavivamiento de la comunidad de fe por el Espíritu, no por sabiduría
estratégica. A veces se intenta minimizar los requisitos de la fe para así crear
un ambiente “seguro” para los posmodernos. Esa no fue la estrategia de
Cristo. En resumen, vivimos en una contra-cultura de posmodernidad, y
como discípulos de Cristo debemos sostener y defender los ideales del
mensaje cristiano de creer, reavivamiento y discipulado; tal y como son
expresados en el planteamiento de Apocalipsis 14. A la misma vez, se habrá
24 Peter Berger, Invitation to Sociology (Garden City, NJ: Doubleday, 1963), 117.
20 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Conclusión
Mientras que los cristianos debemos dar la bienvenida a mucha de la crítica
del posmodernismo hacia el modernismo, se advierte que su crítica está
basada en presuposiciones igualmente dudosas y que dirigirán a conclusiones
desastrosas. El poder de la retórica de los términos posmodernos, tales como
“tolerancia”, “apertura” e “inclusión”, efectivamente disfrazan un objetivo
más insidioso: la destrucción de todos los absolutos que la verdad reclama.
La apertura del posmoderno a la espiritualidad puede verse como algo
positivo, alejándose del naturalismo modernista, pero este tipo de
espiritualidad es inherentemente anti-cristiana, porque considera el mensaje
cristiano (como todas las demás visiones del mundo) como verdad solo para
quienes la aceptan como tal.
Cuando el joven endemoniado fue sanado por Jesús, Él le dijo: “Ve a casa
con los tuyos, y diles todo lo que el Señor ha hecho contigo y como tuvo
misericordia de ti” (Marcos 5:19). Con esto, Jesús enseñaba los principios del
evangelismo. Él quiere que nos sumerjamos en nuestras comunidades y que
construyamos conexiones holísticas con las personas que están nos rodean,
allí donde vivimos, trabajamos y jugamos, para que tengamos la oportunidad
de compartir la maravillosa historia de nuestra sanidad espiritual con ellos. La
comunidad cristiana adventista tiene recursos únicos que pueden ser
utilizados para alcanzar a la comunidad posmoderna y a todos en general. Los
posmodernistas proveen una plataforma más hospitalaria para las
posibilidades teológicas y espirituales. No es suficiente que se comprenda
nuestro mundo desde la distancia. No es suficiente con tener una estrategia
de cómo hacer o cumplir la misión. Habrá que mezclarse con la gente y rozar
nuestros hombros con los de aquellos que deseamos alcanzar para Cristo. Se
necesita tener el deseo de vivir con los posmodernistas “sin iglesia” en sus
términos, no en los propios. Esto sentará las bases para que se dé una
comunicación real y genuina.
JAVIER MEJÍA MEJÍA1
Resumen
La espiritualidad cristiana tiene una connotación totalmente diferente a otros
significados de espiritualidad. La gran diferencia consiste en que en la primera quien
busca ser espiritual se relaciona con una persona, Dios, en tanto que la segunda es
algo impersonal, difuso, místico. Esta relación personal inicia con el nuevo
nacimiento a través de ciertas prácticas espirituales como la oración y el estudio diario
de la Biblia, cuyo propósito es el desarrollo y crecimiento de ese nuevo ser, resultando
en una experiencia gozosa, alegre y renovadora del entusiasmo.
Abstract
Christian spirituality has a totally different connotation to other meanings of
spirituality. The great difference is that in the first who seeks to be spiritual is related
to one person, God, while the second is something impersonal, diffuse, mystical.
This personal relationship begins with the new birth through certain spiritual
practices such as prayer and the daily study of the Bible, whose purpose is the
development and growth of this new being, resulting in a joyful, joyful and renewing
experience of enthusiasm.
Résumé
La spiritualité chrétienne a une connotation totalement différente des autres
significations de la spiritualité. La grande différence est que dans le premier qui
cherche à être spirituel est lié à une personne, Dieu, tandis que le second est quelque
chose d'impersonnel, de diffus, de mystique. Cette relation personnelle commence
avec la nouvelle naissance par certaines pratiques spirituelles telles que la prière et
l'étude quotidienne de la Bible, dont le but est le développement et la croissance de
ce nouvel être, résultant en une expérience joyeuse, joyeuse et renouvelée
d'enthousiasme.
nacido del Espíritu, espíritu es” (Juan 3:5-6). Pero esto es solo el inicio de esa
relación, pues no hay límites en el conocimiento de las profundidades de
Dios, el cual se va dando en la medida que la relación va creciendo.5 El
Espíritu Santo que ha creado esa nueva criatura se queda viviendo con ella,
guiándola a una experiencia de relación con Dios que no tendrá fin.6
5 Ibíd., 14.
6 LeRoy Koopman, Salón de belleza para los pies (Barcelona, España: CLIE, 1980), 25.
7 J. Oswald Sanders, Liderazgo espiritual (Grand Rapids, MI: Portavoz, 1994), 17.
24 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
10 Elena G. de White, Manuscrito 12, del 7 de febrero de 1901, “El Agua viviente”.
11 Rice, El pastor como guía espiritual, 51.
Mejía – El desarrollo espiritual en la iglesia 27
12 Ibíd., 49.
Mejía – El desarrollo espiritual en la iglesia 29
Conclusión
Puede hacerse de la vida espiritual una aventura entusiasta y animosa. Tal
como el rey Asa, quien después de escuchar “las palabras y la profecía del
profeta Azarías, cobró ánimo… reunió a todo Judá y Benjamín… y entonces
prometieron solemnemente que buscarían a Jehová el Dios de sus padres, de
todo su corazón y de toda su alma… y juraron a Jehová con gran voz de
júbilo, al son de trompetas y bocinas… porque de todo su corazón lo juraban,
y de toda su voluntad lo buscaban, y fue hallado de ellos” (2 Crónicas 15:8-
15). O como el rey Josafat, de quien se dice que “se animó su corazón en los
caminos de Jehová” (2 Crónicas 17:6).
El entusiasmo espiritual inducirá al estudio diario de la Biblia. Moverá a la
oración diaria en toda oportunidad que se presente. Inquietará con la práctica
del ayuno basado en su verdadera dimensión bíblica. Moverá a una
consagración individual y como iglesia en general. Motivará a meditar en el
Señor en la quietud de la noche o de madrugada en el lecho de descanso.
Hará que se viva con un insatisfecho y permanente deseo de conocer con
mayor profundidad al gran Dios a quien servimos y adoramos. Así de
entusiasmados con nuestra vida espiritual quisiera encontrarnos el Señor
cuando Él regrese en ocasión de su segunda venida.
13 Elena G. de White, Cada día con Dios (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1979), 11.
ANNIA ESTHER VIVES IGLESIAS1
Resumen
La mayoría de nosotros nace, crece y se desarrolla como individuos en el seno de
una familia y, en consecuencia, usualmente formamos la nuestra. Se pretende
exponer aquí las características sociológicas de la familia, como unidad básica del
desarrollo humano. Pero más importante aún, como institución creada por Dios
desde el principio, tiene funciones que debe cumplir y en especial la responsabilidad
del desarrollo espiritual de los hijos. Este aspecto, tan importante para la
consolidación de su espiritualidad y de su relación con Dios, es progresivo, pasa
por diferentes etapas y los padres juegan un papel vital siendo colaboradores con
Dios en este cometido.
Abstract
Most of us are born, grow up and develop as individuals within a family and,
consequently, we usually form ours. It is intended to expose here the sociological
characteristics of the family, as a basic unit of human development. But more
importantly, as an institution created by God from the beginning, it has functions
that it must fulfill and especially the responsibility of the spiritual development of
the children. This aspect, so important for the consolidation of his spirituality and
his relationship with God, is progressive, goes through different stages, and parents
play a vital role being collaborators with God in this task.
Résumé
La plupart d’entre nous sont nés, grandissons et nous développons en tant
qu’individus au sein d’une famille et, par la suite, nous formons habituellement les
nôtres. On essaie d’exposer ici les caractéristiques sociologiques de la famille, en
tant qu’unité de base du développement humain. Mais plus important encore, en
tant qu’institution créée par Dieu depuis le début, elle a des fonctions qu’elle doit
remplir et surtout la responsabilité du développement spirituel des enfants. Cet
aspect, si important pour la consolidation de sa spiritualité et sa relation avec Dieu,
est progressif, passe par différentes étapes, et les parents jouent un rôle essentiel en
collaborant avec Dieu dans cette tâche.
2 Patricia Arés Muzio, Familia y convivencia (La Habana, Cuba: Editorial Científico Técnica,
2004), 7.
3 Cristóbal Martínez Gómez, Salud familiar (La Habana, Cuba: Editorial Científico Técnica,
2001), 15.
4 Arés Muzio, 7.
34 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Funciones de la familia
Aunque la composición estructural puede ser importante, la familia está
realmente definida por las funciones que debe solventar para con cada
individuo que la integra. Tiene una función bidireccional, pues debe aportar
a la sociedad personas con principios y valores que la enriquezcan y a su vez
recibe la influencia de la sociedad en la que se desarrolla, para moldear en
sus integrantes, precisamente, esos valores morales y principios.
Como institución de marcada transcendencia social, tanto su estructura
como sus funciones están encaminadas a satisfacer las necesidades de cada
uno de sus miembros. Independientemente de los cambios e influjos que la
sociedad pueda tener en su estructura, las funciones primordiales de la
familia se han mantenido casi constantes con el devenir de los tiempos.
Al tener en cuenta que cada individuo es un ser bio-psico-social,8 la familia
de la que forma parte debe estar enfocada en que las dificultades o carencias
en cada una de estas áreas sea satisfecha.
La función biológica está dada fundamentalmente por su papel en la
reproducción y preservación de la raza humana.
La función psicológica de la familia está determinada por la resiliencia
que debe proveer para la estabilidad emocional y psíquica de sus miembros.
11 Fred H. Wight, Usos y costumbres de las tierras bíblicas (Grand Rapids, MI: Editorial Portavoz,
1981), 111.
40 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
12 Elena G. de White, Conducción del niño (1964), 59-60, en Escritos de Elena G. de White, CD-
ROM (Silver Spring, MD: Ellen G. White Estate, 2011).
13 Elena G. de White, El Ministerio de Curación, 1959, 293-294, en Escritos de Elena G. de White,
CD-ROM (Silver Spring, MD: Ellen G. White Estate, 2011).
42 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
14 La negrita es añadida.
15 Elena G. de White, Consejos para los Maestros, 1971, 103-104, en Escritos de Elena G. de White,
CD-ROM (Silver Spring, MD: Ellen G. White Estate, 2011).
Annia Vives – Desarrollo espiritual progresivo… 43
16 Los cinco apartados a los que se refiere la Dra. Mercedes Nasarre pudieran resumirse en:
1) Unidad y conexión con el Universo; 2) Sentido profundo que yo le doy a mi vida; 3)
Sensibilidad y el cultivo de los valores superiores; 4) Compromiso con un camino o una
práctica. Todos aquellos caminos y prácticas, religiosos o no que me comprometen
profundamente y que me ayudan a transformarme; 5) La semilla de autenticidad, que solo
se encuentra con el cultivo de la interioridad.
17 Mercedes Nasarre Ramón, “¿Por qué un psiquiatra habla de espiritualidad? Conferencia
presentada en II Foro de Espiritualidad en la Cova del Pare Palau, “Salud y
Espiritualidad”, Aitona-Lérida, 12-14 septiembre 2014, disponible en
http://www.mindalia.com (accesado 24 mayo 2016).
18 Ibíd.
19 Thomas V. Frederick, “Discipleship and Spirituality from a Christian Perspective”,
Pastoral Psychology 56 (2008): 553-560.
Annia Vives – Desarrollo espiritual progresivo… 45
20 Ibíd.
21 James J. Bacik, “Spirituality for Church Ministers”, en Spirituality for Ministry, ed. Karen
Sue Smith (Missouri, MO: Liguori, 2006), 19.
22 Elena G. de White, Testimonios para la iglesia, 1996, 2: 282, en Escritos de Elena G. de White,
CD-ROM (Silver Spring, MD: Ellen G. White Estate, 2011).
23 Elena G. de White, Alza tus ojos, 1982, 29 de mayo, en Escritos de Elena G. de White, CD-
ROM (Silver Spring, MD: Ellen G. White Estate, 2011).
46 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
sus palabras y acciones, que ayuda a sus miembros y a los que entren en
contacto con ella, a presenciar a un Cristo vivo, resucitado y próximo a
venir.
Una familia espiritual es aquella que ayuda a sus miembros a desarrollar un
conocimiento de Dios basado en su Palabra. Este conocimiento se adquiere
mediante la experiencia de comunión diaria y se manifiesta en una
experiencia vivencial y práctica de esa comunión.
Para aquellos padres que se preguntan cómo lograr la atmósfera espiritual
en sus vidas y en el hogar, les propone el método de Cristo:
Jesús vivió en un hogar de artesanos, y con fidelidad y alegría desempeñó
su parte en llevar las cargas de la familia... Trabajaba con alegría y tacto. Se
necesitaba mucha paciencia y espiritualidad para introducir la religión de la
Biblia en la vida familiar y en el taller; para soportar la tensión de los
negocios mundanales y, sin embargo, continuar deseando sinceramente la
gloria de Dios. En esto Cristo fue nuestro Ayudador. Nunca estuvo tan
embargado por los cuidados de este mundo que no tuviese tiempo o
pensamientos para las cosas del cielo. A menudo expresaba su alegría
cantando salmos e himnos celestiales. Con frecuencia los moradores de
Nazaret oían su voz que se elevaba en alabanza y agradecimiento a Dios.
Mantenía su comunión con el cielo mediante el canto, y cuando sus
compañeros se quejaban por el cansancio, eran alegrados por la dulce
melodía que brotaba de sus labios. Sus alabanzas parecían ahuyentar a los
malos ángeles, y como incienso, llenaban el lugar de fragancia.24
Pero Cristo para lograr esto estuvo en sus primeros años bajo el cuidado
solícito de sus padres terrenales, quienes, con sus modestos esfuerzos, lo
fueron llevando paso a paso a comprender la magnitud de la misión para la
cual había venido a la tierra. De labios de su madre obtuvo las enseñanzas
que quedaron grabadas en su corazón y mediante las cuales crecía en
sabiduría (Lc 2:52), a la par que físicamente.
En nuestros tiempos las necesidades y motivaciones espirituales de nuestros
hijos no son muy diferentes de las que presentaban los niños y niñas de los
tiempos bíblicos. El desafío es encontrar, con la asistencia del Espíritu
Santo, un enfoque adecuado para fomentar el crecimiento espiritual de los
miembros de la familia y disfrutar en el proceso, perfeccionando los
vínculos entre ellos.
24 Elena G. de White, Hijos e Hijas de Dios, 1978, 22 de mayo, en Escritos de Elena G. de White,
CD-ROM (Silver Spring, MD: Ellen G. White Estate, 2011).
Annia Vives – Desarrollo espiritual progresivo… 47
palabras que yo te mando hoy, estarán sobre tu corazón; y las repetirás a tus
hijos, y hablarás de ellas estando en tu casa, y andando por el camino, y al
acostarte, y cuando te levantes. Y las atarás como una señal en tu mano, y
estarán como frontales entre tus ojos; y las escribirás en los postes de tu
casa, y en tus puertas (Dt 6:4-9).
Quizás los niños pequeños no se hagan preguntas trascendentales sobre el
origen de la vida, o quién hizo todas las cosas que nos rodean, pero en su
despertar al mundo es imprescindible ir inculcándoles, de forma paulatina,
las creencias que, en su vida adulta, les van a servir de fortaleza espiritual
para enfrentar los desafíos inevitables que le esperan. Es labor de los padres
y miembros de la familia, proveerles de las herramientas necesarias y
adecuadas para el florecimiento y fortalecimiento de su espiritualidad. Ya
como adultos ellos modelarán sus creencias, sus actitudes, de acuerdo a su
desarrollo cognitivo, al medio social en que se desenvuelvan, y por otros
factores que influirán en ese modelamiento, pero el sustrato base será el que
obtuvieron durante sus años de niñez y adolescencia. La Biblia enfatiza este
asunto cuando dice en Proverbios 22:6 “Instruye al niño en su camino y
aun cuando fuere viejo no se apartará de él”.
Las lecciones espirituales necesarias en la niñez son aprendidas por los
infantes a través de su relación con los adultos. Ellos ven en sus padres un
modelo a seguir y, en gran medida, cuanto más se parezca ese modelo
inmediato al Dios de quien le hablan, mucho más fácil será llegar a
conocerlo y ser amigo de Él, e integrarlo como parte vital de sus vidas.
Como padres lo más natural es desear hijos sanos, fuertes, saludables. Pero
la salud, en su concepción holística, tiene esta importante dimensión
espiritual, que se convierte en rectora de todas las demás. Y partiendo de
nuestra propia concepción e interpretación de la necesidad de ser
fomentadores espirituales es que vamos a trabajar en su asimilación en
nuestros hijos.
¿Qué les decimos de Dios?, ¿cómo modelamos su imagen en sus mentes?
Más importante aún, ¿qué debemos decirles para que tengan una correcta
concepción del mismo?, ¿cómo satisfacer esa necesidad a la par que tienen
otras también imperiosas?
Si se tienen en cuenta los estudios que se han realizado acerca de las
motivaciones y necesidades de las personas hemos intentado establecer una
correlación empírica entre las diferentes necesidades físicas y emocionales,
de acuerdo a las edades de las personas, y sus necesidades básicas en el
orden espiritual. Partiendo de la premisa de que, desde la infancia, es
necesario satisfacer las demandas crecientes de los niños, y que una vez
Annia Vives – Desarrollo espiritual progresivo… 49
26 “La jerarquía de necesidades fue planteada por Abraham Maslow en su libro Motivation and
Personality (1954, Motivación y personalidad). Una de las muchas cosas interesantes que
Maslow descubrió mientras trabajaba con monos muy al principio en su carrera fue que
ciertas necesidades prevalecen sobre otras. Por ejemplo, si estás hambriento o sediento,
tenderás a calmar la sed antes que comer. Después de todo, puedes pasarte sin comer
unos cuantos días, pero solo podrás estar un par de días sin agua. La sed es una necesidad
‘más fuerte’ que el hambre. Maslow recogió esta idea y creó su ahora famosa jerarquía de
necesidades. Además de considerar las evidentes agua, aire, comida y sexo, el autor amplió
cinco grandes bloques: las necesidades fisiológicas, necesidades de seguridad y
reaseguramiento, la necesidad de amor y pertenencia, necesidad de estima y la necesidad
de actualizar el sí mismo (self); en este orden. George Boeree, “Teorías de la Personalidad.
Abraham Maslow”, trad. Rafael Gautier, disponible en: https://
psicopedagogiaaprendizajeuc.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/abraham-maslow-y-su-teoria-
de-la-motivacion-humana (accesado 8 septiembre 2016).
50 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
27 Donna J. Habenicht, Enséñales a amar: Ideas prácticas para enseñar a los niños a amar a Jesús y
desarrollar caracteres nobles (Miami, FL: APIA, 2000), 19.
28 Ibíd. La cursiva es añadida.
29 Los autores difieren en las edades que limitan el período de la adolescencia. Pero, para los
mucho más temprano que en décadas anteriores. Y esto es válido incluso para los
comienzos de la niñez.
54 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Dios existe
Educar por reglas (necesidad de seguridad)
Conclusión
La familia siempre ha sido, es y será el centro formador de las nuevas
generaciones. Al cumplir cabalmente sus funciones, preparan a sus niños,
30 Elena G. de White, Conducción del niño, 1964, 205, en Escritos de Elena G. de White, CD-ROM
(Silver Spring, MD: Ellen G. White Estate, 2011).
Annia Vives – Desarrollo espiritual progresivo… 57
31 Elena G. de White, Conducción del niño, 1964, 156-157, en Escritos de Elena G. de White, CD-
ROM (Silver Spring, MD: Ellen G. White Estate, 2011).
LUIS A. MORALES P.1
Resumen
La apostasía y la retención de los nuevos miembros ha sido una preocupación
durante décadas en la Iglesia Adventista del Séptimo Día (IASD). Por años se ha
visto cómo nuevos conversos se convierten en miembros de iglesia y al poco tiempo
abandonan su feligresía, en menos de un año en algunos casos. Es un problema que
causa desaliento y disminución en el afán misionero y evangelizador en las iglesias
locales, por lo que es necesario encontrar formas de fortalecer la retención de los
nuevos conversos y reducir el índice de apostasía que, según las estadísticas de la
IASD, gira en torno de un 36 por ciento de miembros cada año. Este estudio de caso
en la Asociación Venezolana Sur Oriental (AVSOr), en el estado Bolívar, Venezuela,
indica en sus registros un importante crecimiento de feligresía en los últimos años,
alcanzando los 43.000 miembros. Sin embargo, al examinar cuidadosamente la
feligresía activa, se percibe que un poco más del 80 por ciento del total de los
miembros ya no asisten a la iglesia. Lo notable de este fenómeno impone la urgente
necesidad de explorar las causas que han provocado esa caída en la feligresía.
Abstract
Apostasy and retention of new members in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church
(SDAC) has been a matter of concern for decades. For years it has been seen how
new converts become members of the Church and soon leave their membership, in
less than a year in some instances. It is a problem that causes discouragement and
decrease in the missionary and evangelistic zeal in the local churches, so it is necessary
to find ways of strengthen the retention of new converts and to reduce the rate of
apostasy that, according to the SDAC statistics, are around 36 percent of members
each year. This case study from Southeast Venezuela Conference, in Bolívar State,
Venezuela, has shown in its records an important membership growth in the last
years, reaching 43,000 members. However, by carefully examining the active
parishioners, it is perceived that a little more than 80 percent of all those members
are no longer attending the church. The notable fact that about this phenomenon is
that it imposes an urgent need to explore the causes that have resulted in the drop in
membership.
Résumé
L’apostasie et la rétention des nouveaux membres a été une préoccupation depuis
des décennies dans l’Église Adventiste du Septième Jour. Pendant des années, nous
avons vu comment les nouveaux convertis qui entrent dans l’église et bientôt prendre
sa retraite en moins d’un an dans certains cas. Il est un problème qui produit le
découragement et le déclin du zèle missionnaire et évangélisatrice dans les églises
locales, si vous avez besoin de trouver des moyens de renforcer la rétention des
nouveaux convertis et de réduire le taux d’apostasie, selon les statistiques de l’Église
Adventiste, visite environ 36 pour cent des membres chaque année. Cette étude de
cas dans l’Association du Venezuela du Sud-Est (AVSOr) dans l’Etat de Bolivar,
Venezuela, a indiqué dans ses dossiers une croissance significative du nombre de
membres au cours des dernières années, pour atteindre 43.000 membres. Cependant,
en examinant attentivement les membres actifs, il est perçu qu’un peu plus de 80
pour cent du total des membres ne fréquentent plus l’église. Ce qui est remarquable
sur ce phénomène impose le besoin urgent d’explorer les causes qui ont donné lieu
à l’absence de membres.
Morales – Permanecer en la fe o apostatar… 61
¿Qué es apostasía?
La apostasía era uno de los problemas más graves que tenía que enfrentar la
iglesia cristiana del primer siglo. Ciertos pasajes la describen como: a) volverse
a atrás y no seguir a Jesús, “desde entonces muchos de sus discípulos
volvieron atrás, y ya no andaban con él” (Jn. 6:66); b) abandonar la fe, “Pero
el Espíritu dice claramente que en los postreros tiempos algunos apostatarán
de la fe, escuchando a espíritus engañadores y a doctrinas de demonios” (1
Ti. 4:1); c) ser arrastrado por el error, “Así que vosotros, oh amados,
sabiéndolo de antemano, guardaos, no sea que arrastrados por el error de los
inicuos, caigáis de vuestra firmeza” (2 P. 3:17); d) apartarse del Dios vivo,
“Mirad, hermanos, que no haya en ninguno de vosotros corazón malo de
incredulidad para apartarse del Dios vivo” (Heb. 3:12).
Algunas de las posibles causas de la apostasía según el NT podrían ser: a) la
enseñanza de falsos maestros, “Y muchos falsos profetas se levantarán, y
engañarán a muchos” (Mt. 24:11); b) la adopción de una vida de pecado,
“Pues hablando palabras infladas y vanas, seducen con concupiscencias de la
carne y disoluciones a los que verdaderamente habían huido de los que viven
en error. Les prometen libertad, y son ellos mismos esclavos de corrupción.
Porque el que es vencido por alguno es hecho esclavo del que lo venció.
Ciertamente, si habiéndose ellos escapado de las contaminaciones del mundo,
por el conocimiento del Señor y Salvador Jesucristo, enredándose otra vez en
ellas son vencidos, su postrer estado viene a ser peor que el primero” (2 P.
2:18-20); c) la persecución, “Entonces os entregarán a tribulación, y os
matarán, y seréis aborrecidos de todas las gentes por causa de mi nombre.
Muchos tropezarán entonces, y se entregarán unos a otros, y unos a otros se
aborrecerán” (Mt. 24:9-10); d) la tentación satánica, “Sed sobrios, y velad;
porque vuestro adversario el diablo, como león rugiente, anda alrededor
buscando a quien devorar” (1 P. 5:8).14
Por último, vale la pena señalar que, durante el período de persecución que
sufriera la iglesia cristiana del primer siglo, por parte de los romanos, a los
que profesaban ser cristianos a veces se les inducía a negar ser discípulos. A
aquellos que accedían a sus peticiones, se les exigía que dieran prueba de su
apostasía haciendo una ofrenda de incienso ante algún dios pagano o
blasfemando públicamente contra el nombre de Cristo.15
26 Ibíd., 261.
27 Ibíd.
28 Ibíd.
29 Ibíd., 262.
30 Ibíd., 261.
31 G. Burnside, “¿Podemos reducir las apostasías?”, Ministerio Adventista, Septiembre-
Octubre 1967, 10-13.
32 J. R. Spangler, “Cómo evitar las apostasías”, Ministerio Adventista, Marzo-Abril
1954, 31.
Morales – Permanecer en la fe o apostatar… 67
TABLA 2a
ESTADÍSTICAS DIA36
Ingresos
Feligresía Profesión
Año Iglesias Grupos Bautismos Por Carta
Inicial de fe
TABLA 2b
ESTADÍSTICAS DIA
Egresos
Feligresía Paradero
Año Iglesias Grupos Por Carta Muerte Apostasía
Inicial Desconocido
TABLA 3
ESTADISTICAS UVA37
Ingresos Egresos
Desconocido
Bautismos
Apostasía
Profesión
Por Carta
Por Carta
Feligresía
Paradero
Grupos
Iglesias
Muerte
Inicial
de fe
Año
2001 476 305 106,206 9,297 199 5,111 5,215 127 1,410 98
2002 502 298 114,063 7,815 97 78 186 256 1,314 16
2003 549 336 120,674 10,906 97 43,736 43,771 108 1,097 141
2004 607 352 127,989 12,725 139 113 103 108 846 374
2005 650 388 139,111 15,282 151 5,857 5,792 103 824 99
2006 707 385 151,821 15,014 221 82 114 71 224 5
2007 742 421 166,996 17,027 251 637 693 96 538 188
2008 811 487 183,658 20,937 258 69 85 145 568 10
2009 849 503 203,767 21,131 258 17,689 17,808 81 448 128
2010 496 252 11,997 7,892 105 75 92 71 767 59
138,026 1,776 73,447 73,859 1166 8,036 1,118
Ingresos
Año Iglesias Grupos Feligresía Bautismos Profesión Carta
Inicial de fe
2001 18 22 0 671 67 4,978
2002 27 24 5,563 737 0 0
2003 40 32 6,273 1233 8 9,513
2004 53 26 14,291 1243 0 0
2005 76 51 15,352 2,188 1 5,705
2006 82 47 23,075 2,209 0 0
2007 86 67 25,227 2,390 1 11
2008 106 66 27,509 3,695 0 0
2009 106 66 31,204 3,243 0 0
2010 106 66 34,447 2,645 0 0
Totales 20,254 77 20,207
TABLA 4b
ESTADISTICAS AVSOr
Egresos
Año Iglesias Grupos Feligresía Carta Muerte Apostasía Paradero
Inicial Desconocido
2001 18 22 0 8 5 139 1
2002 27 24 5,563 4 139 293 0
2003 40 32 6,273 2 13 177 44
2004 53 26 14,291 0 7 142 33
2005 76 51 15,352 5 8 108 51
2006 82 47 23,075 0 1 56 0
2007 86 67 25,227 1 2 110 7
2008 106 66 27,509 0 0 0 0
2009 106 66 31,204 0 0 0 0
2010 106 66 34,447 0 0 0 0
Totales 20 175 1,025 136
Morales – Permanecer en la fe o apostatar… 71
TABLA 5
ESTADISTICAS AVSOr40
39 Se entiende por feligresía activa, los miembros que asisten regularmente a la iglesia
cada sábado.
40 Según el informe estadístico de la AVSOr presentado en la 2ª sesión cuadrienal, el
23 de julio de 2012.
72 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
1965, 17.
Morales – Permanecer en la fe o apostatar… 73
45 Ibíd.
46 Burnside, “Podemos reducir”, 10.
47 White, Dios nos cuida (Mountain View, CA: Publicaciones Interamericanas, 1981),
94.
48 Burnside, “Podemos reducir”, 12.
49 White, El evangelismo, 258.
74 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
1979, 12.
53 Walter Murray, “Cómo evitar las apostasías”, Ministerio Adventista, Julio-Agosto
1957, 16.
Morales – Permanecer en la fe o apostatar… 75
usan para señalar ciertas cosas propias de la Iglesia Adventista del Séptimo Día.
76 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Seventh-day Adventist Church and reduce the corresponding apostasy rate” (tesis
de maestría, Universidad de Montemorelos, 1994), 21.
63 Francisco Hernández Velázquez, “Un programa de retención de miembros para la
Unión Cubana de los Adventistas del Séptimo Día” (tesis doctoral, Seminario
Teológico Adventista Interamericano, 2007), 104-105.
78 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
64 Roger Dudley y Des Cumming, Adventures in Church Growth, citado por James Cress,
Los conservas si los cuidas (Buenos Aires, Argentina: Asociación Casa Editora
Sudamericana, 2000), 46.
65 René Padilla, Bases bíblicas de la misión (Buenos Aires, Argentina: Perspectivas
Por último, Dudley y Cumming dicen: “La apostasía como variable es difícil
de interpretar. Los pasos que da una persona que la lleva a rechazar su
relación con Cristo y la iglesia son generalmente graduales y ocurren a lo largo
de un período extenso de tiempo. Existe un intervalo entre el momento en
que el miembro se aleja de la iglesia en el corazón y el momento cuando la
congragación borra en realidad su nombre”.69
Resumen de la investigación
En la investigación realizada en la Asociación Venezolana Sur Oriental se
estudiaron algunos factores demográficos y cómo insidian estos en las
variables y se obtuvo los siguientes resultados:
1. El estado civil. Entre los permanecieron 55 por ciento de ellos eran
casados, mientras que los que se fueron, el 48 por ciento eran solteros,
de modo que el estado civil es un factor influyente para la permanencia.
2. Edad de bautismo. La edad de bautismo en los permanecieron oscilaba
entre veintiuno y treinta años, un 33 por ciento, mientras que la edad de
bautismo de los que se fueron oscilaba entre menos de veinte, un 36 por
ciento; lo que indica que a menor edad de bautismo puede se puede
apostatar, a mayor edad de bautismo se permanece.
3. Familiares Adventistas. Un 49 por ciento de los que permanecieron
manifestaron tener de 1 a 3 familiares dentro de la iglesia, mientras que
el 78 por ciento de los que se fueron no tenían ninguno. Esto indica que
mientras más familiares compartan la misma fe hay más posibilidad de
permanecer.
4. Medio de entrada a la iglesia. El 52 por ciento de los adventistas llegaron a
la iglesia a través de un familiar, mientras que el 46 por ciento de los ex-
adventistas afirmo llegar a la iglesia a través de un amigo. Los que indica
que hay más posibilidades de permanecer si se llega a la iglesia por un
familiar que un amigo.
5. Estudios bíblicos. Ambos grupos afirmaron recibir suficiente cantidad de
estudios bíblicos, por lo tanto, en esta investigación, este factor no es
determinante a la hora de permanecer o apostatar de la iglesia.
6. Atención post-bautismal. El 34 por ciento de los que permanecieron
afirmaron recibir suficiente atención después del bautismo, mientras que
69 Dudley y Cumming, Adventures in Church Growth, citado por James Cress, Los
conservas si los cuidas, 46.
80 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Conclusiones
¿Qué factores influyen sobre los miembros recién convertidos a la fe para
que apostaten o permanezcan durante su primer año de vida cristiana, según
lo observado en las iglesias pertenecientes a la Asociación Venezolana Sur
Oriental durante los años 2010-2011? Se puede inferir a través de la
investigación realizada, que sí existen ciertos factores que influyen para que
los miembros apostaten. Ya que, de las respuestas obtenidas de parte de los
ex-adventistas que se marcharon de la iglesia, se obtuvo las siguientes
razones:
En primer lugar, los problemas personales, con un 70 por ciento. La segunda
causa encontrada fue problemas con los miembros más antiguos de la iglesia,
con 44 por ciento. Esto indica un asunto de suma importancia para la
permanencia de los feligreses, el trato que los miembros de la iglesia dan a los
nuevos conversos. La tercera causa fue la falta de compañerismo entre los
miembros, con 42 por ciento. Según se puede apreciar, cuando no existe
verdadero amor cristiano en la comunidad de creyentes, los miembros no se
identifican y abandonan la iglesia. Es posible tener un buen fundamento
doctrinal, pero el trato amable y el establecer relaciones de amistad cristianas
resultan necesarios para que los nuevos miembros puedan permanecer. La
siguiente causa fue el desánimo y el abatimiento, con un 38 por ciento. Y
finalmente, la quinta causa fue dificultades para adaptarse al estilo de vida
adventista, con un 36 por ciento. Esto indica que cuando el nuevo miembro
no logra adaptarse al nuevo estilo de vida adventista el resultado muy
probablemente será frustración y terminará en deserción.
En cuanto a los factores o razones por las cuales los adventistas
permanecieron en la iglesia durante su primer año de vida cristiana tenemos
las siguientes: Primero, participación en la iglesia, con 70 por ciento. La
Morales – Permanecer en la fe o apostatar… 81
segunda causa encontrada fue compañerismo entre los miembros, con 67 por
ciento. Esto indica la importancia que tiene para la permanencia de los
nuevos miembros el amor cristiano en la comunidad de feligreses. La tercera
causa fue el conocimiento de las doctrinas, con un 62 por ciento. Es también
importante tener un buen fundamento doctrinal. La siguiente causa fue la
participación en los grupos pequeños, con 59 por ciento. La unidad, el
compañerismo y el trato amable resultan necesarios para que los nuevos
miembros puedan permanecer. Y finalmente, la quinta causa fue la
participación misionera, con un 56 por ciento. Esto indica que cuando el
nuevo miembro se convierte en un agente transmisor de la Palabra de Dios,
el resultando será la permanencia.
Por lo tanto, es deber del pastor, como de la iglesia, primeramente, identificar
los factores que influyen sobre los nuevos creyentes para que permanezcan o
apostaten de la iglesia y, segundo, buscar alternativas, elaborar planes, crear
estrategias, diseñar un sistema eficaz, un plan de seguimiento, que ayuden a
los nuevos conversos a permanecer dentro de la fe.
Recomendaciones finales
Los resultados de este estudio han conducido al investigador a señalar las
siguientes recomendaciones para los administradores, pastores y miembros
de la Iglesia Adventista del Séptimo Día de la Asociación Venezolana Sur
Oriental.
A los administradores
1. Capacitar al cuerpo ministerial en cuanto a la asimilación de los nuevos
miembros.
2. Desarrollar y promover materiales que ayuden al desarrollo de la retención
de los nuevos miembros.
3. Velar no sólo porque se alcancen los blancos de bautismos cada año, sino
también porque se consolide y se retenga lo alcanzado.
4. Proveer a cada iglesia de Biblias, himnarios y folletos de escuela sabática,
que ayuden a enriquecer la vida espiritual de los nuevos conversos.
A los pastores
1. Instruir a los miembros de la iglesia antiguos acerca de cómo tratar y recibir
a los nuevos miembros.
82 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Resumen
La iglesia tiene una misión que explica su existencia: Hacer discípulos y proclamar la
salvación en Cristo. Así lo entiende, cree y vive la iglesia; por ello, todo su potencial
e infraestructura se ha predispuesto para enfrentar esa tarea. Sin embargo, existen
obstáculos que hacen ver que la iglesia o buena parte de la feligresía está cansada,
disminuyendo su paso, que hay considerables índices de deserción y bajos índices de
involucramiento de la feligresía en la actividad misionera. Por otro lado,
investigaciones sobre productividad y éxito en el ámbito empresarial destacan la
importancia de la gestión del compromiso y la identidad para catapultar la producción
en las empresas. Esta investigación establece la relación con la “empresa” misionera,
y observa cómo impacta el nivel de compromiso personal y la identidad adventista
en la participación misionera de los miembros de la iglesia, entregando luz sobre
generadores y detractores del crecimiento de la iglesia.
1 El pastor José Luis Jiménez Náñez, Doctor en Ministerio (SETAI, 2012), ha sido pastor de
distrito y director de departamentos en campos del sur de México. Actualmente sirve como
pastor de la Iglesia Universitaria de la Universidad Linda Vista (ULV), en Chiapas,
México. E-mail: ptr.jimenez@gmail.com
84 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Abstract
The Church has a mission that explains its existence: Make disciples and proclaim
salvation in Christ. This is the way that it is understood, believed, and lived by the
Church. Therefore, all its potential and infrastructure has been predisposed to
accomplish the task. However, there are obstacles that make the church or a good
part of the congregation to be tired, at a slower pace, there are considerable desertion
rates, and low levels of involvement of members in missionary activity. On the other
hand, research on productivity and success in the business world highlights the
importance of the management of commitment and identity to launch production in
companies. This research establishes the relationship with the missionary
“enterprise,” and observes how the level of personal commitment and Adventist
identity impacts the missionary participation of church members, shedding light on
generators and detractors of church growth.
Résumé
L'église a une mission qui explique son existence: faire des disciples et proclamer le
salut en Christ. C'est ainsi qu'il comprend, croit et vit l'église; Par conséquent, tout
son potentiel et son infrastructure ont été prédisposés à faire face à cette tâche.
Cependant, certains obstacles font apparaître que l’église ou une bonne partie de la
paroisse semble se fatiguer, diminuer son rythme, que les taux de désertion sont très
élevés et que les fidèles sont peu impliqués dans l’activité missionnaire. D'autre part,
les recherches sur la productivité et le succès dans le monde des affaires proclament
l'importance de la gestion de l'engagement et de l'identité pour catapulter la
production dans les entreprises. Cette recherche établit la relation avec «l'entreprise»
missionnaire et observe comment le niveau d'engagement personnel et l'identité
adventiste ont un impact sur la participation missionnaire des membres de l'église,
mettant en lumière les générateurs et les détracteurs de la croissance de l'église.
Qué es el compromiso
Arias Galicia dice que el compromiso “se trata de un deber moral o
psicológico adquirido hacia una persona, una situación o una institución”.2
Steers lo definió como “la fuerza relativa de identificación y de
involucramiento de un individuo con una organización”. Y en el ámbito
empresarial se le entiende como el “vínculo de lealtad por el cual el trabajador
desea permanecer en la organización, debido a su motivación implícita”.3
El compromiso es, entonces, un vínculo psicológico que une a una persona
o grupo de personas con otras personas o empresa; es la diferencia entre
“tener que hacer lo que se debe hacer y querer hacer lo que se debe hacer”.4
10 Grajales, 1.
11 Ibíd., 3.
12 Héctor Leonardo Mora Santiago, El valor del compromiso; accesada el 15 de mayo de
2012, disponible en http://hectormora.lacoctelera.net/post/2009/06/03/el-
valor-del-compromiso.
88 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
16 Kinsey Goman, 9.
17 Saunders, 20.
18 Ibíd., 23
19 Kinsey Goman, 65.
20 Gallup Inc., Employee Engagement, What´s your engagement ratio?; accesada el 25 de
febrero de 2012, disponible en http://www.gallup.com/consulting/52
/Employee-Engagement.aspx.
21 Ibíd.
90 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Qué es la identidad
Del latín identitas, la identidad es definida como el “conjunto de rasgos
propios de un individuo o una comunidad” y que caracterizan al sujeto o a la
colectividad frente a los demás.22 Para Castells es la “fuente de significado y
experiencia para las personas”,23 y para Jenkins es “la capacidad humana de
saber quién es quién y qué es qué”.24 Lisbona, Morales y Palací citan a Taifel
definiéndola como el resultado de la “percepción de pertenencia a una
categorización grupal”.25
Identidad social
Sin embargo, al hablar sobre la identidad social mostrada en lo laboral, Ruiz
y Marín la definen como "una relación voluntaria, activa y selectiva,
mantenida por el empleado en relación a la empresa con el objetivo de
satisfacer una o más de sus necesidades de definición personal”.26 Por su
parte, Topa y Morales la definieron como un “sentido de unidad y
pertenencia de las personas a sus organizaciones”.27 “Se da cuando el
empleado internaliza los atributos de la organización en conjunto con las
metas y logros propios”.28
29 Jenkins, 5.
30 Altonivel, Consultoría. “La
importancia de crear identidad”; accesada el 8 junio 2012;
disponible en http://www.altonivel.com.mx/4689-la-importancia-de-crear-
identidad.html.
31 Ruiz y Marín, 6.
32 Ibíd.
33 Topa y Morales, 365.
34 Ibíd., 366.
92 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
35 Ibíd., 367.
36 Altonivel, Consultoría.
37 Juan Antonio Moriano et al., “Identificación organizacional y conducta
intraemprendedora”, Revista Anales de Psicología 25, no. 2 (2009): 277-287.
Disponible en http://www.um.es/analesps/v25/v25_2/10-25_2.pdf.
38 Altonivel, Consultoría.
Jiménez – Generadores y detractores del Igle-Crecimiento 93
Detractores de la identidad
También existen elementos contrarios a los generadores. Investigando sobre
el porqué de la ruptura del vínculo obrero-empresarial, Topa y Morales
descubrieron los siguientes detractores de la identidad: Frecuencia de
fusiones y adquisiciones, reestructuración de plantillas, aumento de la
contratación.40 Además, se añade que las actitudes contrarias a las
generadoras de identidad afectarán negativamente: Falta de visión y misión,
falta de objetivos claros, falta de estímulos o incentivos,41 y se menciona a la
incertidumbre o falta de claridad en las tareas.42
39 Ibíd.
40 Topa y Morales, 366.
41 Altonivel, Consultoría.
42 Moriano, 280.
43 S. Alexander Haslam et al, “Cumplir con nuestras armas: la identidad social como
una base para el mantenimiento del compromiso en los proyectos de la
organización”, Journal of Organizational Behavior 27 (2006): 607-628.
94 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
44 Ibíd.
45 L. M. Gómez Ruiz, D. Naranjo Gil, y C. Alvarez Dardet, La identidad social, los
sistemas de control de gestión y el proceso social en los equipos, Universidad Pablo de Olavide,
Sevilla, España, disponible en http://www.aeca.es/pub/on_line/comunicaciones
_xvicongresoaeca/cd/194d.pdf.
46 Wikipedia, “Misionero”; accesada el 15 junio 2012, disponible en http://es.
wikipedia.org/wiki/Misionero.
47 Javier Hernández Pastor, Orden de agustinos recoletos; accesada el 15 junio 2012,
disponible en http://www.oarecoletos.org/frontend/oarecoletos/noticia.php?id
_noticia=299&id_seccion=42.
48 Soraya Canales, Obrero fiel; accesada el 15 junio 2012, disponible en http://
obrerofiel.s3.amazonaws.com/misiones%20mundiales/pdf/Quien%20es%20un
%20misionero.pdf.
49 William F. Ritchey. AMM; accesada el 15 junio 2012, disponible en http://www.
worldmissionsacademy.com/recursos/Quien%20es%20un%20misionero.pdf.
Jiménez – Generadores y detractores del Igle-Crecimiento 95
Resumen de hallazgos
Investigaciones serias acerca del compromiso y la identidad han descubierto,
analizado y documentado la íntima relación que hay entre el compromiso e
identidad con la productividad. Múltiples eruditos reconocen que un obrero
identificado y comprometido con su empresa es, por mucho, más productivo
que los demás y más feliz como persona. Una empresa con tales obreros
siempre será exitosa. Las conclusiones de tales estudios llevan a pensar en la
importancia de dominar el arte de la gestión del compromiso y la identidad
en los obreros, si se desea productividad y crecimiento.
Transportado al ámbito de la Iglesia Adventista y su misión, no es menos
importante conocer y gestionar el compromiso si se quiere crecimiento y
productividad en la empresa de predicar el evangelio a todo el mundo. ¿Cuál
es el nivel actual de identidad y compromiso en la feligresía adventista?
¿Cuáles dimensiones de la identidad y del compromiso deben enfatizarse para
alcanzar el objetivo adventista?
En el transcurso del análisis de los datos se encontraron áreas fuertes
apropiadamente atendidas, y áreas débiles posibles de mejorar. Se mencionan
las siguientes:
Áreas fuertes
1. La feligresía muestra un conocimiento claro de la misión de la iglesia y no
la rehúye. Un buen porcentaje de los hermanos encuestados (78.5 por ciento)
se mostró de acuerdo cuando se le preguntó si conocía la misión de la iglesia.
2. La feligresía ha recibido capacitación para la tarea. De variadas formas y
desde diferentes instructores, ha llegado entrenamiento útil para la ejecución
de la tarea. En la encuesta, el 85 por ciento aceptó haber recibido
capacitación.
Áreas débiles
1. Capacitación para el ministerio personal. A pesar de que la mayor parte de
los encuestados (78.5 por ciento) aseguró conocer la misión y visión de la
iglesia, 21.5 por ciento dijo necesitar capacitación. El objetivo debe ser claro,
98 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Conclusiones
En base a los resultados y tomando en cuenta el objetivo de este estudio, se
anotan las siguientes conclusiones:
1. El compromiso y la identidad tienen una estrecha relación con el éxito y
productividad de una empresa. A mayores niveles de compromiso-identidad,
mayor será la entrega y disposición de parte del obrero.
2. El arte de generar el compromiso y la identidad en el obrero es asequible.
Y más que ello, es indispensable si lo que se quiere es el éxito en una empresa
cualquiera. Gallup Inc. dice que la diferencia entre una empresa importante y
una empresa de clase mundial descansa en el arte de la gestión del
compromiso.
3. En la iglesia adventista, la gestión del compromiso e identidad ha sido
espontánea. No existe un método o plan específico, no forma parte básica de
un plan de trabajo anual. Se ha dado al azar, como resultado de la acción de
Dios.
4. Los niveles actuales de compromiso-identidad en la feligresía adventista
indican necesidad de mejora. Diversas áreas claves no han sido atendidas y
ello provoca bajos niveles de compromiso y, por lógica, baja productividad
en la misión.
5. Variados problemas empresariales como deserción de empleados, baja
productividad, ausentismo, bajos niveles de calidad de la producción, etc.,
han sido atendidos y resueltos a través de la gestión del compromiso-
identidad. Esto puede aplicar para la iglesia adventista; la deserción, bajos
índices de participación misionera, baja productividad, etc., también pueden
ser atendidos y resueltos a través de la gestión del compromiso-identidad.
Recomendaciones
Considerando los resultados de la investigación y las inquietudes surgidas en
el transcurso de la misma, se sugirieron las siguientes recomendaciones:
1. Que en los niveles administrativos de la iglesia adventista, al momento de
la planeación, se incluya un evidente y clarificado plan de gestión del
compromiso-identidad del obrero. Obreros comprometidos e identificados
con la iglesia y su misión avanzarán decidida y atentamente en busca de
conseguir el objetivo: Hacer discípulos en todas las naciones.
2. Que la administración adopte, y adapte en lo necesario, el plan de gestión
o robustecimiento del compromiso-identidad que reciba de los niveles
100 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
superiores, de tal manera que llegue hasta el pastor distrital para ser parte de
su labor ministerial. Un pastor distrital comprometido-identificado, que sigue
un plan de crecimiento basado en la gestión de la identidad adventista y el
consecuente compromiso con la misión, beneficiará a la iglesia.
3. Que cada campo local (asociación y/o misión), habiendo adoptado y
adaptado el plan de gestión del compromiso-identidad, lo incluya en el plan
de trabajo anual que se prepara para la iglesia. Que se le dé seguimiento, se
evalúe periódicamente como parte de la evaluación integral del ministro
adventista. Las iglesias comprometidas e identificadas con la misión serán
más fieles, leales, productivas y menos problemáticas.
4. Que cada departamento y responsable local programe sus actividades y
eventos en procura no solo del desarrollo espiritual, sino también del
robustecimiento de la identidad adventista y el compromiso misionero.
Planes espirituales que gestionan identidad y compromiso resultarán en
crecimiento integral (en calidad y cantidad) de la iglesia.
5. Que cada pastor distrital, con su plan anual que incluye la gestión del
compromiso-identidad, procure influir en el liderazgo local, para que juntos
construyan un equipo que fortalezca a la iglesia y la guíe a la consecución de
los objetivos. Una iglesia comprometida, identificada con la misión y fe
adventista, con líderes que señalan con claridad el camino correcto, será una
iglesia de éxito.
6. Considerando la importancia de la misión de la iglesia y reconociendo lo
trascendente del compromiso y la identidad en la productividad, se
recomienda que en proyectos futuros se hagan tres estudios: (a) el potencial
de las doctrinas fundamentales de la iglesia para generar compromiso e
identidad, (b) se elabore una serie de estudios bíblico-doctrinales generadores
de espiritualidad, identidad adventista y compromiso misionero. Será la
aplicación práctica y ejecución de la gestión del compromiso-identidad; y (c)
una investigación que analice cuáles son los elementos predictores del 75 por
ciento de compromiso e identidad que este estudio detectó como faltante
para un compromiso e identidad total con la iglesia. Será un éxito conocer
qué elementos, actuando en sinergia, podrán gestar en la feligresía adventista
un compromiso e identidad al ciento por ciento del servicio a Jesucristo.
LUCA MARULLI 1
Résumé
Dans la soi-disant « communauté matthéenne », comment dans les assemblées
d’aujourd’hui, coexistaient vues conflictuelles. Matthieu, pour contrecarrer les
pulsions sectaires venant de sa communauté, rendit compte de différentes (et
probablement incompatibles) idéologies et attitudes afin de les réorganiser selon la
vision plus complète donnée par l’enseignement historique de Jésus. La tolérance et
l’excommunication semblent coexister au sein du même évangile : Mt 13:30 et 18:15-
17. Nous croyons que la stratégie matthéenne consiste à utiliser l’argument de ceux
qui veulent imposer une stricte discipline dans la communauté (viz. Mt 18:18) mais
le tourne en fonction de la vision de Jésus : Les membres de la communauté ne
devraient pas être si prompts à épurer et à condamner (cf. Mt 13:41). La
compréhension de soi, la discipline communautaire et les relations avec les autres
groupes sont liées dans le premier évangile. Comme Matthieu, nous avons besoin de
cette attitude pastorale.
Resumen
En la así llamada “comunidad mateana” tal como en las asambleas de hoy, conviven
puntos de vista conflictivos. Mateo, para frustrar los impulsos sectarios provenientes
de su comunidad, informó sobre ideologías y actitudes diferentes (y probablemente
incompatibles) para reorganizarlas de acuerdo con la visión más completa reflejada
en la enseñanza histórica de Jesús. La tolerancia y la excomunión parecen coexistir
dentro del mismo evangelio: Mt 13:30 y 18: 15-17. Creemos que la estrategia de
Mateo es usar el argumento de los que quieren imponer una disciplina estricta en la
comunidad (es decir, Mt 18:18), pero lo convierte de acuerdo con la visión de Jesús:
los miembros de la comunidad no deben ser tan rápidos para purgar y condenar
(véase Mt 13:41). La autocomprensión, la disciplina comunitaria y las relaciones con
otros grupos están vinculadas en el primer evangelio. Como Mateo, necesitamos esta
actitud pastoral.
Abstract
In the so called “Matthean community” like in today’s assemblies, conflicting views
coexist. Matthew, to thwart the sectarian impulses coming from his community,
reported on different (and probably incompatible) ideologies and attitudes in order
to reorganize them according to the more complete vision given by the historical
teaching of Jesus. Tolerance and excommunication seem to coexist within the same
gospel: Mt 13:30 and 18:15-17. We believe that the Matthean strategy is to use the
argument of those who want to impose strict discipline in the community (viz., Mt
18:18) but turns it according to the vision of Jesus: The members of the community
should not to be so quick to purge and condemn (see Mt 13:41). Self-understanding,
community discipline and relationships with other groups are linked in the first
gospel. Like Matthew, we need this pastoral attitude.
Introduction
utilisent une sélection de leurs versets favoris les plus appropriés, les anciens
partis au sein d’une même communauté soulignaient certaines paroles et
paraboles de Jésus pour renforcer la légitimité de leur propre point de vue.
Matthieu, inspiré par le Saint-Esprit, prit en compte toutes les différentes
prises de position et les versets ou paroles qui les justifiaient – qui étaient,
après tout, les paroles mêmes de Jésus – et les recomposa en une image plus
ample et plus complète, pour aider chaque parti à comprendre comment des
phrases différentes (parfois apparemment contraires) devaient en fait être
comprises dans le contexte plus large de l’enseignement du Jésus historique.
Ce faisant, Matthieu reconnaissait les différents points de vue et, au lieu de
les réfuter, tentait de donner un rôle aux arguments de chaque parti, les
amenant à converger vers une compréhension plus complète du point de vue
de Jésus.
2 J. Andrew Overman, Matthew’s Gospel and formative Judaism. A study of the social world
of the Matthean community (Boston, MA: Université de Boston, 1989), 111, 126-130.
104 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
13 L’étude narrative qui suit a été développée dans Luca Marulli, « The parable of the
tares and its explanation (Mt 13:24-30,36-43). A narrative criticism study »,
Adventus 18 (2008): 55-64 ; et a été discutée de façon plus complète dans Luca
Marulli, « The parable of the weeds and Matthew’s strategy vis-à-vis extreme
sectarian impulses from within his community », Andrews University Seminary Studies
47/2 (2009): 181-202.
14 A. J. Kerr, « Matthew 13.25. Sowing zizania among another’s wheat: realistic or
artificial? », Journal of theological studies 48 (1997): 108, note que dans le Digeste
(D.9.2.27.14, publié en 533 apr. J.-C. dans le Corpus Iuris Civilis de Justinien), « Celse
demande : si tu sèmes de l’ivraie [lolium] ou de l’avoine sauvage dans les cultures
d’un autre homme et que tu les abîmes, non seulement le propriétaire peut intenter
un procès pour les préjudices portés secrètement ou par force, mais il peut
Marulli – Une Discipline Ecclésiastique toute Pastorale… 107
17 La question « d’où vient donc qu’il y ait de la mauvaise herbe ? » (Mt 13:27b)
semble être superflue, puisque la présence de plantes indésirables n’avait rien de
surprenant dans les champs palestiniens ; E. Levesque, « Ivraie », en F. Vigouroux,
éd., Dictionnaire de la Bible, fasc. 16, 2e partie (Paris, France: Letouzey et Ané, 1899),
1047. Toutefois la première question: « Seigneur, n’as-tu pas semé de la bonne
semence dans ton champ ? » (v. 27a) souligne le fait que l’étonnement des
serviteurs est provoqué par la présence de l’ivraie dans un champ qui était supposé
n’avoir que de bonnes plantes. L’étonnement absurde des serviteurs est totalement
étranger à la parabole rapportée en l’Év. Thom. 57. De toute évidence, la parabole
matthéenne donne au maître, appelé Kurios (Seigneur) à cet endroit, une occasion
d’expliquer à ses serviteurs la vérité à propos de la présence de l’ivraie dans le
champ.
18 Selon Mt 13: 26, la différence entre l’ivraie et le blé devint claire « quand l’herbe
poussa et fit du fruit » (je traduis). Apparemment, (a) l’ivraie est perceptible bien
avant de porter son fruit (Michel De Goedt, « L’explication de la parabole de
l’ivraie (Mt XIII:36-43) », Revue biblique 66 (1959): 52; Gustaf Dalman, Die Worte
Jesu ; mit Berücksichtigung des nachkanonischen Jüdischen Schrifttums und der Aramäischen
Sprache erörtert, 1re éd., 1898 (Leipzig, Germanie: Hinrichs, 1930), 325, et (b) « porter
du fruit » chez Matthieu correspond souvent à faire de « bonnes actions ». « Fruit »
(karpos) se trouve 19 fois dans le premier évangile. L’expression « faire, produire
du fruit », chez Matthieu, est toujours utilisée dans le contexte d’un appel à
l’« action » : Mt 7:16-20 (//Mr 4:8 ; Lc 8:8) ; 12:33 (//Lc 6:43-44) ; 3:8, 10 (//Lc
3:8-9) ; 21:19, 34 (//Mr 11:14 ; 12:2 ; Lc 20:10). Matthieu est le seul évangile
proposant après la parabole de la vigne (Mt 21:33-41//Mr 12:1-2//Lc 20:9-19) ce
verset : « C’est pourquoi, je vous le dis, le règne de Dieu vous sera enlevé et sera
donné à une nation qui en produira les fruits » (v. 43). Dans la parabole de l’ivraie,
c’est précisément quand l’herbe porte du fruit que l’ivraie est manifestée (Mt
13:26), toutefois le fruit est la preuve de la qualité de la plante (cf. Mt 12:33). La
dimension métaphorique du mot fruit brille de toute sa splendeur dans la parabole
de l’ivraie.
19 Év. Thom. 57 : « [Car] au jour de la moisson les mauvaises herbes apparaîtront. »
Matthieu utilise le verbe « apparaître » à l’aoriste pour décrire la manifestation de
l’ivraie bien avant le temps de la moisson (v. 26), alors que l’Év. Thom. 57 emploie
son équivalent copte –au futur– pour évoquer le temps de la moisson.
Logiquement, l’ivraie est visible et reconnaissable bien avant la moisson : même
l’Év. Thom. 57 semble le postuler. Autrement, comment l’interdiction d’aller
arracher l’ivraie peut-elle être expliquée ? Pourquoi donc l’Év. Thom. 57 devrait-il
souligner que l’ivraie apparaîtra au temps de la moisson ? L’Év. Thom. 57 signifie
probablement que l’ivraie sera manifestée au temps de la moisson sans possibilité
d’être confondue avec le blé. Dans ce cas, selon l’Év. Thom. 57, le danger
110 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
demande aux serviteurs d’attendre (aphiêmi), un mot qui peut être aussi traduit
par pardonner ou permettre 20.
Si à ces traits rédactionnels nous ajoutons le fait que le mot oikodespotês
(« maître de maison ») peut désigner Jésus aussi bien que les chrétiens 21, il est
naturel de conclure que l’intention du rédacteur était de souligner que la
parabole de Jésus encourageait en fait la communauté à accepter son statut
de corpus mixtum (« corps composé [composé de bon et de mauvais] ») et à
l’assumer. Les « serviteurs » de la parabole ne reçoivent aucune contrepartie
allégorique dans l’explication. Matthieu ne censure pas le dualisme radical qui
voit les « enfants de Dieu » comme opposés aux « enfants du Mauvais », mais
le replace dans le juste contexte d’origine : le royaume du Fils de l’homme
(13:41).
Dans la petite apocalypse (Mt 13:40-43) qui suit le Lexicon (vv. 37-39), le
royaume du Fils de l’homme est habité par les justes (qui entreront par la
suite dans le royaume du Père) aussi bien que par les scandaleux et les injustes.
La difficulté du texte repose dans la compréhension de la nature du royaume
du Fils de l’homme (13:41) : s’agit-il de l’Église, du monde ou d’une réalité
eschatologique 22 ?
d’arracher l’ivraie avant la moisson réside dans la possibilité d’arracher le blé avec
l’ivraie à cause de leur apparence similaire (cela serait déjà une interprétation de
l’Év. Thom. 57, puisque la première partie de sa version de la parabole partage le
même souci que la version matthéenne : l’ivraie est aisément repérée avant le temps
de la moisson). Matthieu, d’un autre côté, ne voyait aucune possibilité de confusion
entre les deux sortes de semence. Matthieu pouvait alors avoir ressenti le besoin
d’anticiper dans la parabole l’utilisation du verbe « apparaître » pour montrer que
l’interdiction d’arracher l’ivraie n’est pas motivée par la peur d’extirper le bon grain
croyant qu’il s’agit d’ivraie, mais motivée plutôt par le risque d’éradiquer le blé avec
l’ivraie (13:29b « en même temps » et non « à sa place ») à cause de
l’enchevêtrement de leurs racines (E. Levesque, « Ivraie », 1046).
20 Mt 13:30. La forme impérative d’aphiêmi signifie « laisser, permettre, laisser en
place » mais aussi « pardonner » (e.g. Mt 6:14).
21 Chez Matthieu, le mot oikodespotês est utilisé pour désigner Jésus (10: 25), Dieu
(20:1, 11; 22:33) et même chaque chrétien (13:52 ; 24:43).
22 Voir Jacques J. Dupont, « Le point de vue de Matthieu dans le chapitre des
paraboles », en M. Didier, éd., L’Évangile selon Matthieu. Rédaction et théologie (BETL
29), Gembloux, Duculot, 1972, p. 224-227 ; Robert K. MrIver, « The parable of
the weeds among the wheat (Matt 13:24-30, 36-43) and the relationship between
the kingdom and the Church as portrayed in the Gospel of Matthew », Journal of
Biblical literature 114/3 (1995): 643-659.
Marulli – Une Discipline Ecclésiastique toute Pastorale… 111
Conclusion
L’Évangile de Matthieu ne provient certainement pas d’une communauté
monolithique, mais d’une communauté dans laquelle des vues conflictuelles
coexistaient désagréablement. Il n’est pas surprenant alors de voir que
Matthieu a été bien reçu par les judéo-chrétiens au début du IIe siècle, qui
imaginaient une vie de foi uniquement au sein du judaïsme, et par les auteurs
adversus Ioudaios 25.
Matthieu va à l’encontre des pulsions sectaires venant de sa communauté en
minant la sécurité sotériologique et en décourageant les siens de toute
tentative utopique de se constituer eux-mêmes en une communauté libre de
toute impureté. La compréhension de soi, la discipline communautaire et les
relations avec les autres groupes juifs sont intimement liées dans le premier
évangile.
Une telle approche ecclésiologique peut s’avérer utile dans les assemblées
d’aujourd’hui aux prises avec des tensions internes. Comme Matthieu, nous
avons besoin d’une attitude pastorale venant du cœur, d’une fine
connaissance des différentes revendications, et d’une compréhension
« inspirée » de l’enseignement et du ministère de Jésus dans leur ensemble.
Resumen
No es posible ir muy lejos en ninguna parte de las Escrituras, entendidas como
revelación especial de Dios, sin encontrar algo que tenga referencia a Cristo. Es como
si un hilo dorado recorriera la trama de la Biblia. Se lo puede notar desde el Génesis
hasta el Apocalipsis. De modo que Cristo es el principio hermenéutico o la clave de
comprensión, ya que la Escritura solo se lee correctamente cuando se lee a la luz de
Jesús. En Él, la verdad de Dios se dice, se encarna y se vive. Con un enfoque
histórico-gramatical, la teología utilizará este principio cristo-céntrico de análisis del
texto sagrado, en donde Él será tanto el revelador como quien es revelado.
Abstract
It is not possible to go very far in any part of the Scriptures, understood as a special
revelation of God, without finding something that has reference to Christ. It is as if
there is a golden thread through the Bible. It can be noted from Genesis to
Revelation. So Christ, is the hermeneutical principle or the key to understanding the
Bible, since Scripture is only read correctly when it is read in the light of Jesus. In
Him, the truth of God is said, incarnated and lived. Using the historical-grammatical
approach, theology can use this Christ-centric principle of analysis of the sacred text,
where He will be both the revealer and the revealed.
Résumé
Il n’est pas possible d’aller très loin dans une partie des Écritures, compris comme la
révélation spéciale de Dieu, sans trouver quelque chose qui fasse référence à Christ.
C’est comme si un fil d’or traversait l’intrigue de la Bible. On peut le voir de la Genèse
1 Adolfo Suárez, doctor en Teología, Nuevo Testamento, es rector del Seminario Adventista
Latinoamericano de Teología, con sede en la División Sudamericana, Brasilia, Brasil. E-
mail: adolfo.suarez@dsa.org.br
114 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
2 Millard J. Erickson, Introdução À Teologia Sistemática (São Paulo: Vida Nova, 1997), 55-56.
3 Heber Carlos de Campos, O Ser De Deus E Os Seus Atributos, 3a ed. (São Paulo: Cultura
Cristã, 2012), 30.
4 Frank M. Hasel, “Christ-Centered Hermeneutics: Prospects and Challenges for Adventist
Biblical Interpretation”, Ministry - International Journal for Pastors 84, no. 12 (2012): 6.
Suárez – La Cristo-centralidad de las Escrituras 115
Disponible en https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/2012/12/christ-centered-
hermeneutic (accesada 19 Septiembre 2013).
5 José Antonio Pagola, Jesus: Aproximação Histórica, 5a ed. (Petrópolis, RJ: Vozes, 2012), 11.
6 Ibíd., 530.
7 Ibíd.
8 Mary Healey, “The Hermeneutic of Jesus”, Communio - International Catholic Review 37, no. 3
(Otoño 2010): 477.
9 Graeme Goldsworthy, Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics: Foundations and Principles of Evangelical
Biblical Interpretation (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2010), 58.
116 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
10 Ibíd., 64.
11 Ibíd., 81.
12 Laird Harris, Inspiração e Canonicidade da Bíblia (São Paulo: Cultura Cristã, 2004), 51.
13 Ibíd., 51.
Suárez – La Cristo-centralidad de las Escrituras 117
14 Lucien Cerfaux, Cristo na Teologia de Paulo (Santo André, SP: Academia Cristã, 2012), 21.
15 Larry W. Hurtado, One God, One Lord: Early Christian Devotion and Ancient Jewish Monotheism
(Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press, 1988), 23. La obra está traducida al portugués: Senhor Jesus
Cristo- Devoção a Jesus No Cristianismo Primitivo (Santo André, SP: Academia Cristã, 2012).
16 Kevin Vanhoozer, Há Um Significado Neste Texto? Interpretação Bíblica - Os Enfoques
Contemporâneos (Sao Paulo, Brasil: Editora Vida, 2010), 154.
17 Ibíd., 12.
118 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
18 Ibíd., 816-817.
19 George Gunn, “The Christocentric Principle of Hermeneutics and Luke 24:27” (2013), 1.
Disponible en http://ftp.shasta.edu/admin/userfiles/resourceDocuments/Christocentri-
city_Lk24v27.pdf (accesado 5 septiembre 2013).
20 Trent C. Butler, Luke, ed. Max Anders, Holman New Testament Commentary, 3 (Nashville,
lugar”.21 O como dice Warren Wiersbe: “la clave para comprender la Biblia
es ver a Jesús en cada página”.22
Teniendo en cuenta que las Escrituras requieren la Cristo-centralidad, es
fundamental reiterar que, en este caso, Jesucristo debe ser visto como el
significado y el símbolo. De hecho, según el prólogo de Juan, Jesús es la
“‘Palabra de Dios’, la Palabra (Logos) que estaba en (y es) con Dios y que es
Dios. Jesús, se podría decir, es tanto el símbolo como el significado”. Eso
significa que “él no solo representa a Dios, sino que es, él mismo, la misma
presencia de Dios”. En este sentido, “Jesucristo es el referente de los textos
bíblicos”,23 una explicación que se dio a los discípulos de Emaús, según la
narración de Lucas: “y comenzando por Moisés y todos los profetas, les
explicaba lo que estaba escrito en todas las Escrituras” (Lucas 24:27). No hay
la menor duda de que “leer la Biblia a través de la lente de Jesús es leerla
como él quería”.24
21 Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One
Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996), 1912.
22 Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996),
1:279. Como dice Mary Healey, “The Hermeneutic of Jesus”, Communio 37, no. 3 (2010):
478, este principio: toda la Escritura habla de Cristo y se cumple en él, todavía “se afirma
en teoría, pero se ignora grandemente en la práctica”. Prueba de esto es la escasez de
publicaciones con ese abordaje. Healey propone una reflexión respecto de la hermenéutica
de Cristo basada en dos textos bíblicos del evangelista Marcos, 2:23-28 y 11:27-12:34. Para
la referida autora, la “hermenéutica de Jesús en Marcos 2:23-28 no solo involucra un “uso”
o la apropiación conveniente de un texto, reescribiéndola libremente para atender la
ocasión” (p. 488). En los dos textos de Marcos que ella analiza, entiende que Jesús invita “a
los oyentes a reflexionar más profundamente sobre lo que la Biblia revela y sobre el
significado oculto de sus palabras y acciones” (p. 490). En este sentido, esta investigación
que presentó pretende hacer una contribución para la reflexión de ese tema.
23 Vanhoozer, Há Um Significado Neste Texto?, 108.
24 Michael Williams, How to Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens: A Guide to Christ-Focused Reading
of Scripture (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 9.
25 Mark Allan Powell, Introducing the New Testament: A Historical, Literary, and Theological Survey
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009), 64.
120 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
una figura eterna y exaltada que existió desde antes de la creación y que
continúa reinando desde el cielo”, impactando y viviendo en el corazón de
quien cree en él.26 Por lo tanto, la teología bíblica es el estudio de cada texto
en la Biblia en cuanto se refiere a Jesucristo y su Evangelio.27 Sin embargo,
considerando que Cristo es el mediador que da conocer al Padre, “la teología
bíblica también es teológica y no simplemente cristológica”.28
En relación con la Palabra, “Jesús es tanto el significante [parte física de la
palabra: palabra escrita + sonido] como el símbolo [concepto que transmite
la palabra] del texto”.29 En otras palabras, Cristo es tanto el Revelador como
quien es Revelado.30 Siendo este el caso, Él es el expositor y sujeto de la
Escritura,31 algo que se vuelve claro en la perspectiva de Lucas 24:27.
También vale la pena mencionar que “en la iglesia primitiva, sus miembros
eran casi todos judíos y su mensaje estaba dirigido básicamente a ellos”. Por
esta razón, “la preocupación principal de estos creyentes era, mostrar que el
AT se cumplió totalmente en Jesús Las líneas generales de esta apologética
se basaron en el ejemplo de su maestro resucitado”.32
Sin embargo, esta percepción del cristianismo no parece ser solo la lectura de
un lector antiguo o contemporáneo. Cristo mismo da señales de su persona
como el centro. Más que eso, “Cristo mismo ciertamente parecía tener una
comprensión logocéntrica: ‘Yo soy la luz del mundo, yo soy el camino, la
verdad y la vida’ (Juan 8:12, 14: 6)”. En estos dos versículos, la cristología se
presenta “completamente logocéntrica: Jesucristo es la fuente y el centro, no
solo del significado y la verdad, sino también del gozo, la libertad y la plenitud
de la vida”.33 Como parece, entonces, Cristo mismo entendió que, en Él, “la
verdad de Dios se dice, se incorpora y se vive”.34 Por lo tanto, “Cristo es la
obra maestra tanto de la doctrina como de la práctica del cristianismo”.35
Además, como nos recuerda Spence-Jones, “Jesús tenía ante sí un gran
26 Ibíd.
27 Goldsworthy, Christ-Centered Biblical Theology, 40.
28 Ibíd.
29 Vanhoozer, Há Um Significado Neste Texto?, 108.
30 Donald Macleod, Jesus Is Lord: Christology Yesterday and Today (Fearn, UK: Christian Focus
Infalibilidade Das Escrituras, ed. Norman Geisler (São Paulo: Vida, 2012), 29.
33 Vanhoozer, Há Um Significado Neste Texto?, 109.
34 Anthony C. Thiselton, New Horizons in Hermeneutics: The Theory and Practice of Transforming
55 Ibíd.
56 Peppler, The Christocentric Principle, 134-135.
57 Telford Work, “The Confession of Christ as Hermeneutical Norm”, en Tenth Annual
344.
126 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
59 Ibíd.
60 Ibíd.
61 Geisler, To Understand the Bible Look for Jesus, 82-83.
Suárez – La Cristo-centralidad de las Escrituras 127
62 Francis Watson, Text and Truth: Redefining Biblical Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans,
1997), citado en Daniel J. Treier, Introducing Theological Interpretation of Scripture: Recovering a
Christian Practice (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 67.
128 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
63 David Flusser y R. Steven Notley, Jesus (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1997), 23.
RONALD ROJAS 1
Abstract
The husband-wife relationship is presented in the Scripture in three phases. The first
phase (Genesis 1-2) shows God’s original purpose for the first couple; the second
phase (Gen 3:16) lists the effects of sin on the husband-wife relationship; and the
third phase (NT) presents a call to restore the marital relationship in a fallen world.
An examination of key passages in those three stages reveals that both the Old
Testament and the New Testament agree on how the husband and wife should relate
to each other. Although it was recognized that the original dynamic of the husband-
wife relationship was affected by the fall, a hope for restoration was envisioned. In
fact, by quoting Gen 1-2 when teaching about marital relationship, both Jesus and
Paul implied that their theology on marriage was grounded in God’s original plan
Thus, they set that the ultimate goal of all married couples is to live according to
God’s original purpose for marriage as described in Gen 1-2.
Resumen
La relación esposo-esposa se presenta en la Escritura en tres fases. La primera fase
(Génesis 1-2) muestra el propósito original de Dios para la primera pareja; la segunda
fase (Génesis 3:16) enumera los efectos del pecado en la relación esposo-esposa; y la
tercera fase (NT) presenta un llamado para restaurar la relación matrimonial en un
mundo caído. Un examen de pasajes claves en esas tres etapas revela que tanto el
Antiguo Testamento como el Nuevo Testamento están de acuerdo en cómo el
esposo y la esposa deben relacionarse entre sí. Aunque se reconoce que la dinámica
original de la relación esposo-esposa se vio afectada por la caída, se prevé una
esperanza de restauración. De hecho, al citar Gen 1 al enseñar sobre la relación
matrimonial, tanto Jesús como Pablo implicaron que su teología sobre el matrimonio
estaba basada en el plan original de Dios. Así, pues, establecieron que el objetivo
supremo de todas las parejas casadas es vivir de acuerdo con el propósito original de
Dios para el matrimonio como se describe en Gen 1-2.
Résumé
La relation époux-épouse est présentée dans les Écritures en trois phases. La
première phase (Genèse 1-2) montre le but original de Dieu pour le premier couple;
la seconde phase (Gn 3,16) énumère les effets de l’absence sur la relation mari-
femme; et la troisième phase (NT) présente un appel à restaurer la relation conjugale
dans un monde déchu. Un examen des passages clés de ces trois étapes révèle que
l’Ancien Testament et le Nouveau Testament s’accordent sur la manière dont le mari
et la femme doivent être en relation les uns avec les autres. Bien que la dynamique
originelle de la relation époux-épouse ait été affectée par la chute, un espoir de
restauration a été envisagé. En fait, en citant Gen 1-2 à propos de la relation
conjugale, Jésus et Paul ont tous deux laissé entendre que leur théologie sur le mariage
était fondée sur le plan originel de Dieu. Ainsi, le but ultime de tous les couples
mariés est de vivre selon l’original de Dieu pour le mariage comme décrit dans Gen
1-2.
Genesis 1
The creation of Adam and Eve is presented in Gen 1 as the most significant
act in the creation of the world. This is shown in that several features set
apart the creation of humanity from all the things created.
First, the verb “to create” (בָּ ָּרא, bārā’), which is used in three places in the
creation account, divides the things created into three sections.3 The first time
it is used is to speak of the creation of the physical world and of nature (Gen
1:1); the second time it is used is to describe the creation of living creatures
(Gen 1:21); and the third time it is used is to introduce the creation of
humanity (Gen 1:27). This reveals in the narrative an escalation in the order
of things created: From the inanimate world to living creatures to humanity.
Such escalation suggests that men and women were to be God’s special
creation.
2 Gehring calls Gen 2:24 the “Edenic ideal,” which is a recurrent text in the NT.
Rene Gehring, The Biblical “One Flesh” Theology of Marriage as Constituted in Genesis
2:24: An Exegetical Study of this Human-Divine Covenant Pattern, Its New Testament
Echoes, and Its Reception History Throughout Scripture Focusing on the Spiritual Impact of
Sexuality Eugene (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2013). See also Gerhard F. Hasel,
“Equality from the Start: Woman in the Creation Story,” Spectrum 7, no. 2 (1975):
21; Richard M. Davidson, Flame of Yahweh: Sexuality in the Old Testament (Peabody,
MA.: Hendrickson, 2007), 15–16; Frank M. Hasel, “The Biblical Concept of
Marriage in the Bible,” in Marriage: Biblical and Theological Aspects, eds. Ekkehardt
Mueller and Elias Brasil De Souza, Biblical Research Institute Studies in Biblical
Ethics (BRISBE), vol. 1 (Silver Spring, MD: Review and Herald, 2015), 26.
3 John Sailhamer, The Pentateuch as Narrative: A Biblical-Theological Commentary (Grand
This is also highlighted by the fact that the verb “to create,” which is used
one time to introduce the section of the inanimate world (Gen 1:1-19) and
another time to introduce the living creatures (Gen 1:20-25), is used three
times in the creation of humanity (Gen 1:27). Such repetition indicates that
special emphasis is being placed on the creation of humanity.
Second, unlike the living creatures that God caused to create through the
water (Gen 1:20) and the earth (Gen 1:24), humanity was created by God’s
direct involvement, a concept that will be developed in the second account
of the creation (Gen 2:7).
Third, God granted to humanity the privilege of ruling over all the living
creatures (Gen 1:26, 28). This suggests that the world (nature and living
creatures) was created with the aim of being given to humanity. In other
words, God created everything, so that humanity may enjoy it while having
the responsibility of stewardship over creation.
Fourth, the creation of humanity is commanded differently. From the first
day, God’s commands to create were always impersonal (verbs in third
person singular: jussive): “let there be” (יְ הִ י, yĕhî) light (Gen 1:3), expanse (Gen
1:6), luminaries (Gen 1:14); “let the earth sprout” (Gen 1:11); “let the waters
teem” (Gen 1:20); “let the earth bring forth” (Gen 1:24). However, the
pattern changes when humanity is being created. God’s command becomes
personal (verb in first person singular plural: Cohortative): “let us make”
(Gen 1:26). Unlike others things created, God got personally involved in the
creation of humanity. Therefore, it is self-evident that “the creation of human
life is an exception to the rule of creation by divine fiat.”4
Fifth, only humanity is created according to “God’s image” (Gen 1:27). Trees
and living creatures, on another side, were created according to their own
“kind” (Gen 1:11, 12, 21, 24-25).5 This comparison reveals that unlike trees
4 Nahum M. Sarna, Genesis, The JPS Torah Commentary (JPS) (Philadelphia, PA:
Jewish Publication Society, 1989), 11.
5 The LXX highlights more strongly than the Masoretic Text the contrast between
the creation of the trees, animals, and humankind by using the preposition κατά
(“according”) to state in conformity to what they were created.
A. Trees: ποιοῦν καρπόν οὗ τὸ σπέρμα αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ κατὰ γένος (Gen. 1:11-12)
B. Animals
1. Sea-animals: καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὰ κήτη τὰ μεγάλα καὶ πᾶσαν ψυχὴν
ζῴων ἑρπετῶν ἃ ἐξήγαγεν τὰ ὕδατα κατὰ γένη αὐτῶν (Gen. 1:21)
2. Sky-animals: καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς… πᾶν πετεινὸν πτερωτὸν κατὰ γένος
(Gen 1:21)
Rojas – The Husband-Wife Relationship in the Scripture… 133
and animal, human beings were not an innovative idea because they were
created according to an existing pattern, namely, God. Thus, it could be said
that “humans resemble God.”6 This means God shares some qualities of
Himself only with humanity.7 This sharing, however, is not related to the
intrinsic divine nature since it is made clear that humankind was created from
the “dust of the earth” (Gen 2:7), and not from any heavenly matter.
Sixth, humanity was created as “male and female” (Gen 1:27). Although
animals were also created “male and female” (see Gen 6:19; 7:3, 9, 16), in the
creation account such differentiation is given only in relation to humanity.
The singleness of humanity (אָּ דָּ ם, ‘ādām) is presented as the union of two
(male and female). “And God created humankind in his image; in the image
of God, He created it [singular]; male and female, He created them [plural]”
(Gen 1:27).8 The same idea is expressed in Gen 5:2 where “male and female”
are named ‘( אָּ דָּ םādām). This implies that humankind (אָּ דָּ ם, ‘ādām) was
considered to be the union of male and female. Since such union is expressed
in the marriage relationship (Gen 2:24), the lack of stress to gender when
describing the creation of animals indicates that humankind were created not
only to procreate (Gen 1:28), as animals can do too (Gen 1:22), but also to
have closeness (two becoming one).9
3. Earth-animals: καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὰ θηρία τῆς γῆς κατὰ γένος καὶ τὰ
κτήνη κατὰ γένος καὶ πάντα τὰ ἑρπετὰ τῆς γῆς κατὰ γένος αὐτῶν (Gen.
1:25)
C. Humankind: ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ᾽ εἰκόνα ἡμετέραν (Gen. 1:26)
6 Jacques B. Doukhan, Genesis, Seventh-day International Bible Commentary
(SDAIBC) (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press, 2016), 62. Brown rightly affirms that
whereas the animals (and trees) “are organized by their shared characteristic of one
another, human beings are set apart by virtue of their resemblance to the divine.”
William P. Brown, The Structure, Role, and Ideology in the Hebrew and Greek Texts of
Genesis 1:1-2:3, Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series (SBLDS), vol. 132
(Atlanta: Scholars, 1993), 41.
7 For a review of the different interpretations of the “image of God,” see Richard M.
Davidson, “The Nature of the Human Being from the Beginning: Genesis 1-11,”
in What are Humans Beings that You Remember Them? Proceedings of the Third International
Bible Conference, Nof Ginosar and Jersualem, June 11-21, 2012, ed. Clinton Wahlen
(Silver Spring, MD: Biblical Research Institute, 2015), 11-22.
8 Unless otherwise indicated, translations are those of the author.
9 If the marriage God originally provisioned is that when two persons of different
genders (male+female) cleave to one another, all other types of marital relationship
(homosexuality: gay [male+male]; lesbian [female+female]; polygamy: polygyny
[female+female+male] polyandy [male+male+female]) are not divinely instituted.
134 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Genesis 2:18
This theology of marriage is presented not only as a man’s need but also as
God’s design. Even with a cursory reading of the creation account in Genesis
1 and 2, it could be perceived that the adjective “good” (טֹוב, ṭôb) permeates
the narrative. In the creation account, “good” is used nine times to describe
God’s creation (Gen 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31; 2:9, 12). It is used to highlight
that everything that was created was useful, needed, appropriate, “good.”
That’s why it is striking that in Gen 2:18 something is found “not good” (ל ֹא־
טֹוב, lō’ ṭôb).12 In this way, Gen 2:18 signals a temporary incompleteness to
God’s creation of humankind: The creation of the man only is not “good.”
Something needs to be added to him, namely, an ‘( ֵעזֶר כְ נֶגְ ּדֹוēzer kĕnegdô).
The precise meaning of ‘( ֵעזֶר כְ נֶגְ ּדֹוēzer kĕnegdô) has been long debated. The
word ‘( ֵעזֶרēzer) is more commonly translated “helper,” a word defined by
between Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Texts (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1989),
28-29.
12 Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 1-15, Word Biblical Commentary (WBC), vol. 1 (Waco,
13 Carl Schultz, “( ָּעזַרʿāzar) I, Help, Support,” in Theological Wordbook of the Old
Testament (TWOT), eds. R. Laird Harris, Gleason J. Archer, Jr., and Bruce K.
Waltke (Chicago, IL: Moody, 1980), 660-61.
14 Davidson, Flame of Yahweh, 29.
15 U. Bergmann, “עזר, ʿzr, to help,” in Theological lexicon of the Old Testament (TLOT),
eds. Ernst Jenni and Claus Westermann (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1997),
2:873.
16 Allan M. Harman, “עזַר ָּ (ʿāzar)” in New International Dictionary of Old Testament
Theology and Exegesis (NIDOTTE), ed. Willem A. VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan, 1998), 3.378–79
17 J. M. Sprinkle, “Sexuality, Sexual Ethics,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch
(DOTP), eds. T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity, 2003), 749.
18 Ibid., 742; Raymond C. Ortlund, Jr., “Man and Woman,” in New Dictionary of Biblical
Richard S. Hess and M. Daniel Carroll R (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2003), 17;
Davidson, Flame of Yahweh, 27.
19 P. L. Bremer, “Help,” in The International Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE), rev. ed., ed.
Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988) 2:682. See also Samuele
Bacchiocchi, The Marriage Covenant: A Biblical Study on Marriage, Divorce, and
Remarriage (Berrien Springs, MI: Biblical Perspectives, 2001), 14.
20 Jay E. Adams, Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage in the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan, 1980), 8.
21 Ortlund, “Man and Woman,” 651.
22 Victor P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 1-17, New International
Genesis 2:23
To create the woman, in a sense, God took advantage of the man (Gen 2:21-
22). The woman was fashioned from a part of the man. This does not hint
that the woman is inferior in nature than to the man (see 1 Cor 11:11-12) just
as the man is not inferior to the dust of the ground from which he was
created. The point is to highlight the ontological unity and theological unicity
of them. They both form humankind (Gen 1:27; 5:1-2). This is also
recognized by Adam. When he saw the woman, his immediate appraisal was
that she is one with him (Gen 2:23). In fact, by calling her “woman,” he
underlies the oneness between them. In Hebrew, there is a wordplay between
their names, which is well preserved in English translations: “She shall be
called Woman (אשָּ ה,‘ishâ)
ִ because she was taken out of Man (איׁש,‘ish)”ִ
(Gen 2:23 NKJV).
Adam considered Eve to be “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Gen
2:23). This expression suggests oneness. The word has a restricted usage to
refer to relatives (Gen 29:14; 2 Sam 19:12), which implies that the marital
bond has the same strength of that of the family bond.23 To put it differently,
family ties are not superior to the marital union. Therefore, just as parents,
siblings, and relatives, do not cease to be, neither should spouses.24
Genesis 2:24
Taking the concept of oneness between the man and the woman, the author
of the book of Genesis draws out principles to be applied to every marriage
(Gen 2:24).25 This is reflected in the word “therefore” (עַל־כֵן,‘al-kēn), which
is a narrative marker to indicate the cause of an existing natural custom.26
This idea is also highlighted by the use of the generic word “man” instead of
the proper name “Adam,” as in the previous (Gen 2:23a) and following (Gen
1:25) verses. Besides, the fact that the act of leaving parents could not apply
to Adam, it is evidence that he is not the one in view (God talking to him).
In fact, he could not be the one speaking to future generations either because
children leaving parents to marry was still an imperceptible idea for him.27
Thus, it seems that Gen 2:24 is an editorial remark,28 which entails that the
author of the book of Genesis intended readers to see the marital
relationships as it was instituted by God in Eden.
According to Gen 2:24, the man is “to leave” ( ָּעזַב,‘āzab) parents and “to
cleave” (דָּ בַ ק, dābaq) to his wife.29 Since in the patriarchal time families were
patrilocal, that is, women left her relatives to live with or near their husband’s
parents,30 in this context these two verbs should be understood figuratively.31
Neither “to leave” should be understood as meaning “abandonment” since
27 Gehring observes that Adam could not be speaking because (1) he had not parents,
(2) “therefore” is used elsewhere for editorial comments, (3) Jesus understood Gen
2:24 as an explanatory remark from God himself (Matt 19:5). Gehring, The Biblical
“One Flesh”, 21.
28 Umberto Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Genesis: Part 1, From Adam to Noah
(Genesis I/VI 8), trans. Israel Abrahams (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Hebrew
University, 1961), 136; Wenham, Genesis 1-15, 70; John Skinner, A Critical and
Exegetical Commentary on Genesis, International Critical Commentary (ICC) (New
York, NY: Scribner, 1910), 70; Claus Westermann, Genesis 1-11: A Continental
Commentary (Minneapolis, PA: Fortress, 1994), 233. Mueller notes that the referent
of the expression “he said” in Matt 19:5 is God rather than Jesus. Therefore, he
contends that Gen 2:24 is “a direct word of God the Father,” not an editorial
comment. Mueller, “Divorce and Remarriage in the New Testament,” in Marriage:
Biblical and Theological Aspects, eds. Ekkehardt Mueller and Elias B. de Souza,
BRISBE 1 (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 2015), 220–221. However,
Gehring believes that taking into consideration that many OT’s sayings are
attributed to God by the NT’s writers (R. T. France, The Gospel of Matthew, The
New International Commentary on the New Testament [NICNT] [Grand Rapids,
MI: Eerdmans, 2007], 717 n. 21), Gen 2:24 could be understood as God speaking
through the author of Genesis. Gehring, The Biblical “One Flesh”, 21.
29 That the man can leave his home hints that he is a mature person with the ability
to provide for himself and his prospective spouse. See Lars I. Grandberg and Jerry
Root, “Marriage, Theology of,” in the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (EDT2), 2nd.
ed., ed. Walter A. Elwell (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2001), 744.
30 Gordon P. Hugenberger, Marriage as a Covenant: A Study of Biblical Law and Ethics
psychologically. Andrew Cornes, Divorce and Remarriage: Biblical Principles and Pastoral
Practice (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1993), 57.
Rojas – The Husband-Wife Relationship in the Scripture… 139
adults were required to honor their parent (Mark 7:9-13; see also Exod
20:12).32
A survey of their usage reveals that they are used frequently to describe
Israel’s covenant relationship with God. “To leave” describes Israel’s
rejection of the covenant (Jer 1:16; 2:13) and “to cleave” describes Israel’s
commitment to God’s covenant (Deut 4:4; 10:20; 11:22). The marriage as a
covenant relationship is attested in the Old Testament (Prov 2:17; Mal 2:14).
“Thus, to leave father and mother and cling to one’s wife means to sever one
loyalty and commence another,”33 which implies that the commitment to
one’s spouse should transcend the commitment to one’s parents.34
In the personal interrelationship context, the verb “to cleave” (דָּ בַ ק, dābaq) is
used to refer to deep emotional attachment. For example, Shechem cleaved
to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter, that he loved her and spoke tenderly to her heart
(Gen 34:3). Likewise, Ruth cleaved to Naomi (Ruth 1:14) that she left behind
everything just to be with her mother-in-law (Ruth 1:16–17). Thus, the
implication of the text is that the new couple should be detached emotionally,
not necessarily physically, from their relatives.35
Finally, the last clause highlights the union of the male and female: “[…] and
they will be one flesh” (Gen 2:24c). The concept of two becoming one is
made clearer in the Septuagint (LXX), which renders “and the two [man and
woman] will be one flesh.” When it is taken into account that the man was
somehow divided to create the woman (Gen 2:22), the portrayal of the man
and woman as becoming one is not odd. This means that Gen 2:24 brings
back into one flesh what was divided in the creation of woman in Genesis
2:22,36 which suggests that by nature “they belong to each other.”37 Thus, the
phrase “one flesh” puts emphasis upon marital intimacy and unity. But the
32 Bacchiocchi, The Marriage as a Covenant, 16. Mueller observes that just as leaving
parents to follow Jesus does not violate the fifth commandment, leaving parents
to get marry does not violate the fifth commandment either. Mueller, “Divorce
and Remarriage in the New Testament,” 215.
33 Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 1–17, 180.
34 Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Genesis: Part 1, 137.
35 Kenneth A. Mathews, Genesis 1-11:26, The New American Commentary (NAC),
vol. 1A (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1996), 223; Wenham, “Family in
the Pentateuch,” 18.
36 Richard S. Hess, “Adam,” DOTP 20.
37 Rad, Genesis, 440.
140 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
38 Charles M. Sell, Family Ministry (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995), 121.
39 Adams, Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage in the Bible, 19.
40 Ibid.
41 Sell, Family Ministry, 80.
42 The act of becoming “one flesh” is used in the Scripture as a euphemism of sexual
relations (1 Cor 6:16), which should happen within marriage. Such understanding
speaks against premarital and extra-marital sex, polygamy, and homosexuality.
Alexander, “Marriage,” 510–511.
43 Bill T. Arnold, Encountering the Book of Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1998), 38.
44 Sailhamer, The Pentateuch as Narrative, 106.
Rojas – The Husband-Wife Relationship in the Scripture… 141
45 For the different views on how commentators have explained Gen 3:16, see
Badenas, “Husband and Wife in Marriage,” 81-82.
46 Davidson, Flame of Yahweh, 569.
47 Susan T. Foh, “What is the Woman’s Desire,” in Westminster Theological Journal
(WTJ) 37, no. 3 (1975); See also, Doukahn, Genesis, 121; John H. Walton, Genesis,
The NIV Application Commentary (NIVAC) (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,
2001), 228.
48 Foh, “What is the Woman’s Desire,” 379-80.
142 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Table 1
Parallel Between Genesis 3:16b and 4:7b
49 Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 1–17, 201–202; C. John Collins, Genesis 1-4:
A Linguistic, Literary, and Theological Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2006), 160.
50 Many commentators claim that Gen 3:16b depicts the struggle between sexes to
gain control over the other. Collins, Genesis 1-4, 159-160; Foh, “What Is the
Woman’s Desire?” 376-83; Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 1:17, 202; Allen
Ross, “Genesis,” in Cornerstone Biblical Commentary (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale,
2008), 54; Mathews, Genesis 1-11:26, 251; Bruce K. Waltke, Genesis: A Commentary
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001), 94. Evidently, the gender war came as a
result of sin. In fact, he did not call her “my woman” (cf. Gen 2:25, 3:8, 20, 21;
4:1, 25), but God’s chosen woman.
Rojas – The Husband-Wife Relationship in the Scripture… 143
upon the woman for committing sin.51 In other words, God is prescribing
what will happen upon to the woman due to her transgression:52 (a) to suffer
pain in childbirth, (b) to have desire unto her husband, and (c) to be ruled by
her husband. Moreover, they overlook that the gender war started
immediately after Adam and Eve sinned (see Gen 3:12) but before God’s
judgment was pronounced upon them (Gen 3:16-19). Thus, God cannot be
the made responsible of for the gender war between husband and wife; it is
just one of the effects of their sin. To put it differently, gender war came as
a consequence, not as God’s punishment for their sin.
Besides, there is no need to understand “desire” as a synonym of “to rule” in
Gen 3:16 or 4:7. The use of the vav-disjunctive to introduce the second clause
indicates that two things/persons are presented as acting differently: One
desires; the other rules. Likewise, in Gen 4:2, the vav-disjunctive is used to
distinguish Cain’s occupation from that of Abel: the former is a servant of
the ground; the latter is a shepherd. In this way, “desire” should be
interpreted as having not the same meaning of “to rule.”
Being objective to the three occurrences of “desire” in the Old Testament,
the best way to understand the term is as referring to “one’s basic or inherent
instincts.”53 In Gen 3:16, the woman’s “desire” toward her husband seems
to be a persistent longing despite her suffering during labor. Thus, “desire”
can be seen as a compensation for the sorrow of childbirth.54
Finally, God also punished the woman to be submitted to her husband (Gen
3:16c).55 It was ordered to keep the couple’s stability within the marriage
51 It should not be overlooked that Gen 3:16 is just a part of the section dealing with
God’s judgment upon those involved in the transgression, namely, the Serpent,
Eve, and Adam. The use of poetry instead of prose marks off this segment, which
goes from verse 14 to verse 19. The verb “( אמרto say”) functions as an
introductory marker for each God’s speech: “And the Lord God said to the
Serpent” (Gen 3:14); “to the woman, he said” (Gen 3:16); “and to Adam, he said”
(Gen 3:17). Thus, God’s pronouncement is clearly divided in three speeches, in
which he addresses the serpent (Gen 3:14-15), Eve (Gen 3:16), and Adam (3:17-
19), respectively.
52 The use of the first person and the causative mode (Hiphil) of the verb suggests
that God will make sure that the woman experience pain in the gestation of
bringing new life.
53 Walton, Genesis, 228.
54 Ibid., 228–29.
55 That this submission is not due to any man is self-evident by the fact that a woman
should not “desire” any man. Her “desire” is only for “her man.” This suggests
that whatever issue is in view in Gen 3:16 it should be understood as happening
144 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
only in the marital relationship. This means that the woman’s “desire” is not to
any man, but only to “her man,” just as the man ruling is not to any woman, but
only to “her woman.” The idea of wife’s submission to her husband is taught in
the NT (1 Cor 11:3; Eph 5:22, 24; Col 3:18; Tit 2:5; 1 Pet 3:1)
56 Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald,
1890), 58.
57 Commenting on Gen 3:16, White states: “When God created Eve, He designed
that she should possess neither inferiority nor superiority to the man, but that in
all things she should be his equal. The holy pair were to have no interest independent
of each other; and yet each had an individuality in thinking and acting. But after
Eve’s sin, as she was first in the transgression, the Lord told her that Adam should
rule over her. She was to be in subjection to her husband, and this was a part of the curse”
(Emphasis supplied). Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church (Washington, D.C.:
Review and Herald, 1895), 3:484.
58 Davidson, Flame of Yahweh, 545-606.
59 Duane Garrett, Song of Songs/Lamentations, WBC 23B (Dallas, TX: Word, 2004),
102.
Rojas – The Husband-Wife Relationship in the Scripture… 145
Jesus’ View
The most significant text concerning the restoration of marriage is found in
the gospels. The Pharisees wanted to justify their practices based on Moses’
ordinances (Matt 19:7; Mark 10:3). But to their surprise, Jesus rejected their
theological foundation by saying that Moses’ laws were to be seen as remedial
due to the evil of the people.60 “He [Jesus] said to them, ‘Moses permitted
you to divorce your wives for the hardness of your heart’” (Matt 19:18a).
Thus, they his laws are not to be considered as God’s ultimate ideal.
Jesus’ statement was very shocking for his time. Jews considered Moses as
the highest religious authority.61 Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher of
the first century C.E., deemed him as “the most illustrious of prophets.”62
For Josephus, a Jewish historian of the first century, Moses was the legislator
and founder of the theocracy in Israel,63 a divine man,64 the most honorable
person after God,65 and from whom the Jewish constitution depends on.66
If Moses’ teaching was not to be the norm, what should it be? For Jesus, the
norm was to be the one God intended “from the beginning” (ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς, ap’
archēs): “but from the beginning, it was not so” (Matt 19:8b). The phrase
“from the beginning” was used in v. 4 to refer to the time when God “made
them male and female” (Matt 19:4b), a clear allusion to Gen 1:27. Moreover,
since Matt 19:4-56 quotes Gen 2:24, it indicates that Jesus had in mind God’s
original purpose for the marital relationship when he taught the people of his
era about marriage. Thus, it cannot be denied that Jesus’ theology on marriage
was grounded in Gen 1-2. Now, since Gen 1-2 were also penned by Moses,
Jesus is not putting God versus Moses! He is just distinguishing between
God’s original provision and God’s remedial provision.
On another hand, the fact that Jesus made an appellation appeal to practice
God’s original plan for marriage, it which suggests that in Jesus’ time married
people were not living the idyllic marital relationship for which they were
meant to experience. Although he recognized the existence of sin and its
catastrophic results, he did not discard the purpose of the marital relationship
espoused at creation. By appealing to God’s original purpose, Jesus
challenged the Pharisees to live as “in the beginning,” rather than after the
Fall.67 The implication is that the gospel calls for “a return to the idealism of
the pre-fall Genesis narrative.”68 This means that his Jesus’ message to on
marriage was that one of restoration.69
Paul’s View
One of the texts most mentioned in the New Testament in connection with
marriage is Eph 5:22-30. This passage contains ethical principles that both
husband and wife should practice. It is significant because it relates the
marital relationship to that of Jesus and the church. In other words, Eph
5:22-30 presents the Jesus-church relationship as a paradigm for the husband-
wife relationship.
The first correlation is between the church and the wife. The pericope opens
with a call “to submit” (ὑποτάσσω, hypotássō) to one another in “the fear of
Christ” (Eph 5:21). Then it passes goes on to say that wives should submit
to their own husband as if they were submitting to the Lord (Eph 5:22). The
concept of submitting to someone should be understood in the light that not
only wives should submit to their husbands but also Christians should submit
to one another, as indicated in the previous verse (Eph 5:21).70 In fact, Eph
5:22 lacks the verb “to submit” in the original Greek text; it is borrowed from
the previous verse.71
This view of the woman’s submission to her husband is not new to Paul. As
it was shown above, God ordered it after the Fall (Gen 3:16). The fact that
humanity, marriage has been perverted by sin; but it is the purpose of the gospel
to restore its purity and beauty.” Ellen G. White, Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing
(Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald, 1896), 64.
70 Calvin B. Rock, “Marriage and Family,” in Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology,
ed. Raoul Dederen (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 2000), 732; Craig S.
Keener, Paul, Women & Wives: Marriage and Women’s Ministry in the Letters of Paul
(Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1992), 169.
71 Peter T. O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians, The Pillar New Testament Commenary
Paul encourages the woman to submit to her husband, it implies that he saw
God’s judgment upon the woman, as stated in Gen 3:16, as a remedial
provision rather than as a descriptive consequence of the Fall.72
That wives should be submitted to their husbands as the church is submitted
to Christ is made clearer in Eph 5:24: “But as the church is submitted
(ὑποτάσσω, hypotássō) to Christ, so also the wives [should be submitted] to
their own husbands in everything.” While the appellation appeal is to the
wives to be to their husbands as the church is to Christ, the parallel also
implies that the husbands should be to their wives as what Christ is to the
church, that is, a loving one rather than a tyrant.
Since wives are encouraged to submit, it indicates the action of submitting is
voluntary rather than one imposed by force by the husband. In other words,
husbands should not force wives to submit just as Christ does not force the
church to obey. Submission is always a voluntary act. This is also indicated in
the text by having the verb “to submit” in the middle voice. When the verb
“to submit” is used in active voice, it suggests the idea that coercive power is
being used (Rom 8:7, 20; Phil 3:21; 1 Cor 15:27); however, when the verb is
used in middle voice, it suggest the idea of cooperation (Rom 13:1, 5; Tit
3:1).73 Thus, the idea of a wife’s subordination in Eph 5:21-33 should be seen
as a free act, a voluntary attitude.
Therefore, such submission should not be understood as one blinded,
namely, one where the husband demands arbitrarily upon the woman. The
submission is one that “it is proper in the Lord” (Col 3:18). This means that
the wives’ submission to their husband has a limit.74
72 Krister Stendahl believes that Gen 3:16 is “the decisive scriptural passage for the
whole New Testament’s instruction concerning the subordination of woman.”
Krister Stendahl, The Bible and the Role of Women: A Case Study in Hermeneutics, trans.
Emilie T Sander; Facet Books, Biblical Series (FBBS), vol. 15 (Philadelphia, PA:
Fortress, 1966), 29.
73 Markus Barth, Ephesians 4–6, AB, 34A (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1974), 710–
711; see also William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker, and Walter Bauer, A Greek-
English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed.
(BDAG) (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 1042; Stephen Francis
Miletic, “One flesh”: Eph. 5.22-24, 5.31: Marriage and the New Creation (Roma: Editrice
Pontificio Istituto Biblico, 1988), 29.
74 White says: “When husbands require the complete subjection of their wives,
declaring that women have no voice or will in the family, but must render entire
submission, they place their wives in a position contrary to the Scripture. In
interpreting the Scripture in this way, they do violence to the design of the marriage
148 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Unlike wives, in this passage husbands are not commanded to submit to their
wives. They should imitate Christ in the way he loves the church.75 In other
words, husbands should love (ἀγαπάω, agapáō) their wives in the same manner
as Christ loves (ἀγαπάω, agapáō) the church (Eph 5:25). Thus, Christ is
presented as the role model for husbands.76 Since The fact that Christ is
presented as one who gave himself for the church (Eph 5:25), it means that
he practices a servant headship. Therefore, the husbands should have a
similar attitude to their wives. To do so, husbands “must be under the rule
of Christ that he may represent the relation of Christ to the church.”77
The reason why the husband should love his wife is that she is part of his
body (Eph 5:28) just as the church is part of Christ’s body (Eph 5:30). The
idea of the wife being part of the husband was coined by Adam: “This is now
bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Gen 2:23). Consequently, Eph
5:22-30 is grounding its theology of husband and wife relationships “in the
beginning,” just like Jesus did.78 This is made explicit in Eph 5:30, where Gen
2:24 is quoted, following thus the same line of thought of Gen 2:23-24. Table
2 illustrates this connection (next page).
institution.” Ellen G. White, Manuscript Releases (Silver Spring, MD: Review and
Herald, 1990), 11:75.
75 Ernest Best, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Ephesians, ICC (London: T&T
21:215.
78 Gehring observes that Eph 5:30 is the peak of a chiasmus found in Eph 5:21-33.
Table 2
Parallel Between Ephesians 5:28-31 and Genesis 2:23-24
Ephesians 5:28-31 Genesis 2:23-24
Wives are part of their husband’s Wife is part of her husband’s
body (5:28-29) body (2:23)
Husband should cleave to his Husband should cleave to
wife (5:31) his wife (2:24)
Finally, it should be noticed that Paul cites Gen 2:24 (the passage describing
God’s ideal without hierarchy before the Fall) and not Gen 3:16, the passage
involving hierarchy after the Fall. Paul is thus calling back to the divine
original plan, which was mutual submission.
Another Pauline passage dealing with closeness in marriage is found in 1 Cor
7, whose verse five is very shocking. “Do not deprive one another, except by
mutual consent for a time, so that after you have devoted yourselves to
prayer, you may be together again, so that Satan does not tempt you because
of your incontinence.” According to this text, neither the husband nor the
wife should give preferences to spiritual duties (such as prayer) at the expense
of the marital relationship.83 Unless one has the spouse’s consent,84 married
people should not deprive themselves of practicing sexual relationship, not
even for spiritual devotion.85 This text balances the one-sided view of other
New Testament passages, where preferences should be given to God, not to
family (e.g. Mark 3:33-35; Luke 14:26).
It is significant that the same danger of lack of self-control may be found in
both single and married people. Just as single people should marry to avoid
“fornication” (πορνεία, porneía, 1 Cor 7:2), married people should not deprive
themselves to avoid being tempted by Satanas (1 Cor 7:5). This suggests that
sexual intercourse should be limited, on one hand, to be practiced only by
married couples, and, on another hand, to satisfy only the one’s spouse’s
sexual urge needs. Consequently, individuals were expected to practice
neither premarital nor extramarital sex. Also, 1 Cor 7:5 urges Christian
couples to seek to meet each other’s sexual needs,86 which points out that a
83 According to rabbinic literature, a husband could deprive his wife from sexual
intercourse to pursue spiritual devotion only for a period of 30 days. After that, if
he still would like to continue, he needed his wife’s consent: “Disciples go forth
for Torah study without [the wife’s] consent for thirty days” (Ketub. 5.6; see also
‘Ed. 4.10). A similar statement is found in the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, a
pseudepigraphic work from the second century B.C.E.: “For there is a time for a
man to embrace his wife, and a time to abstain from that for his prayer” (T. Naph.
8:8).
84 Hasel says that mutual consent is paramount for sexual intercourse, even among
married couples; otherwise, “there is rape, not marriage.” Hasel, “The Biblical
Concept of Marriage,” 47.
85 See Craig S. Keener, And Marries Another: Divorce and Remarriage in the Teaching of the
Anchor Bible (AB), vol. 32 (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1976), 208.
91 Hans Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians: A Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians,
Hermeneia (Philadelphia, PA: Fortress, 1975), 117; Orr and Walther, I Corinthians,
208.
92 Orr and Walther, I Corinthians, 208.
152 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Table 3
Symmetric Structure of 1 Corinthians 7:33-34
“The unmarried woman and the “But the married woman cares for
virgin cares for the things of the the things of the world, how she may
Lord” please (πῶς ἀρέσῃ) the husband”
The phrase “how he/she may please” (πῶς ἀρέση, pôs arésē) appears three
times (see italics in Table 3). The first time, the object is God; while the
second and third times, the object is the spouse. The text parallels the person-
God relationship with the husband-wife relationship, an idea also found in
Eph 5:21-33 (see above). What it is significant here is that both husband and
wife should please one another intentionally to the same extent in analogous
fashion as they please the Lord. The verb “to please” (ἀρέσκω) is used “to
express interest in accommodating others by meeting their needs.”93 The
modal adverb “how” implies that married people should be focused on
looking for ways to please their spouses. This suggests that the marital
relationship is intended to be one, in which the husband and the wife show
mutual affection to one another to the same extent.
93 BDAG, 129.
Rojas – The Husband-Wife Relationship in the Scripture… 153
Conclusion
The husband-wife relationship is presented in the Scripture in three phases.
The first phase (Genesis 1-2) shows God’s original purpose for the first
couple; the second phase (Gen 3:16) lists the effects of sin on the husband-
wife relationship; and the third phase (NT) presents a call to restore the
marital relationship in a fallen world. An examination of key passages in those
three stages revealed that both the Old Testament and the New Testament
agree on how the husband and wife should relate to each other, namely, as it
was divinely instituted in Gen 1-2. Although it was recognized that the
original dynamics of the husband-wife relationship was affected by the Fall,
a hope for restoration was envisioned. In fact, by quoting Gen 1-2 when
teaching about marital relationship, both Jesus and Paul implied that their
theology on marriage was grounded in God’s original plan. Thus, they set
God’s original purpose for marriage—as described in Gen 1-2—as the
ultimate goal for all married couples.
LARRY L. LICHTENWALTER 1
Abstract
The last prophetic event of John’s Apocalypse, the arrival of the Holy City, gives the
fulfillment of all hopes. Every citizen-saint, now united in one family, is at peace with
one another and with God. The redeemed not only see God’s face, they reflect His
character. The vision casts a “moral horizon,” that provides a conceptual canvass on
which Revelation’s moral themes and values are painted, through which we are
invited to interpret moral reality and frame ethical discussion. This study explores
the final vision’s New Jerusalem’s “tree of life” motif in order to unfold implications
for the book’s ethical trajectory and tacit moral values. Revelation’s imagery of “the
right to the tree of life” corresponds rather closely, though inversely, to Gen 3:22-
24. This allusion reminds us that while life is a divine gift it is ever tied to moral being
and doing—to ethics. The access to the tree of life is always open. The imagery
presents a wonderful picture of stability and security.
Resumen
El último evento profético del Apocalipsis de Juan, la llegada de la ciudad santa,
ofrece el cumplimiento de todas las esperanzas. Cada ciudadano-santo, ahora unido
en una familia, está en paz unos con otros y con Dios. Los redimidos no solo ven el
rostro de Dios, sino que reflejan su carácter. La visión proyecta un “horizonte
moral”, que proporciona un cuadro conceptual en el que se pintan los temas y valores
morales del Apocalipsis, a través de los cuales se nos invita a interpretar la realidad
moral y encuadrar la discusión ética. Este estudio explora el motivo del “árbol de la
1 Larry L. Lichtenwalter, PhD in Christian Ethics, serves as dean of the Faculty of Theology,
and director of the Institute for Islamic and Arabic Studies at Middle East University in
Beirut, Lebanon. E-mail: lichtenwalter@gmail.com
156 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
vida” de esa visión final de la Nueva Jerusalén, a fin de mostrar implicaciones para la
trayectoria ética y los valores morales tácitos del libro. Las imágenes del Apocalipsis
al “derecho al árbol de la vida” corresponden bastante de cerca, aunque de manera
inversa, a Gén 3:22-24. Esta alusión nos recuerda que, si bien la vida es un don divino,
siempre está ligada al ser y al hacer moral, a la ética. El acceso al árbol de la vida está
siempre abierto. Las imágenes presentan una imagen maravillosa de estabilidad y
seguridad.
Résumé
Le dernier événement prophétique de l’Apocalypse de Jean, l’arrivée de la ville sainte,
donne la réalisation de tous les espoirs. Chaque citoyen-saint, maintenant réuni dans
une même famille, est en paix les uns avec les autres et avec Dieu. Les rachetés ne
voient pas seulement le visage de Dieu, ils reflètent son caractère. La vision trace un
« horizon moral » qui fournit une base conceptuelle sur laquelle sont peints les thèmes
et les valeurs morales de l’Apocalypse, à travers laquelle nous sommes invités à
interpréter la réalité morale et à encadrer le débat éthique. Cette étude explore le
motif « arbre de vie » dans la vision finale de la Nouvelle Jérusalem, afin de
comprendre ses implications pour la trajectoire éthique et les valeurs morales tacites
du livre. La représentation du « droit à l’arbre de la vie » de l’Apocalypse correspond
assez étroitement, bien qu’inversement, à Gn 3: 22-24. Cette allusion nous rappelle
que, si la vie est un don divin, elle est toujours liée à l’être moral et à ce qu’elle fait -
à l’éthique. L’accès à l’arbre de vie est toujours ouvert. Les images présentent une
image magnifique de la stabilité et de la sécurité.
2 In Scripture “sea” often has a negative connotation, representing void, darkness and chaos
(Gen. 1:2; Ps. 18:12; Job 26:10; Prov. 8:27), death and “non-being” (Eze. 26:19-21; Jonah
2:6; Hab. 3:10), and evil (Isa. 27:1; 51:9, 10). Revelation also associates the “sea” with
Babylon (16:12), and to the origins of beast (13:1; cf. Dan. 7:3). In Scripture “sea” becomes
the metaphoric place of disturbed and stormy social and political conditions out of which
the enemies of God’s people commonly arise.
Lichtenwalter – The Tree of Life and Ethics… 157
9 Missing Revelation’s larger moral horizon can bring disjointedness to ethical discovery.
One can not only overlook subtle moral nuances, but also assign a dominating (thus
distorting) weight to one moral theme over all others. For example, one will assert that
Revelation is above all else a “political resistance document” (as per Richard B. Hays, The
Moral Vision of the New Testament: Community, Cross, New Creation; A Contemporary Introduction
to New Testament Ethics (San Francisco, CA: Harper San Francisco, 1996), 170), while
another will point to themes of “justice and judgment” and its “advocacy stance” (as per
Elizabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, The Book of Revelation: Justice and Judgment (Minneapolis, MN:
Fortress Press, 1998), 9; and ibid., "The Words of Prophecy: Reading the Apocalypse
Theologically," in Studies in the Book of Revelation, ed. Steve Moyise (New York, NY: T. & T.
Clark, 2001), 19). Issues of liberation, gender, power, and violence likewise are often
highlighted as ethically paradigmatic. No doubt, they represent significant moral themes
found in Revelation, which demand attention. But, are they foundational moral themes,
which can integrate its varied moral motifs? Can they facilitate ethical reflection across the
macro, mezzo, and micro spectrum? Can they provide an adequate worldview? Or a
sufficient theological/ moral paradigm under which other of Revelation’s moral themes
could naturally fall and find meaning? Is “justice and judgment” what Revelation is all
about? Is political resistance its ethic? Or power? Or violence? Or liberation? Or does what
Revelation is really all about include these kinds of ethical issues within its larger moral
vision?
10 J. Richard Middleton, A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology (Grand
Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2014), 171, 172.
Lichtenwalter – The Tree of Life and Ethics… 159
in which the tree of life stands.11 Although the Genesis narrative takes up
only two early chapters of Scripture (Gen. 2-3), the notion of a garden-like
paradise, lost due to the Fall, exerts a strong influence in biblical imagery.12
The portrait of mankind’s first home in the Garden of Eden is powerful.
The paradise home is paradigmatic as is its ethos and ethic.13
Just as there was a tree of life in the Garden (Gen 2:9), so also a tree of life
stands in the New Jerusalem (22:2). But whereas in Genesis 3:23-24 human
beings are exiled from the Garden and the way to the tree is guarded by
cherubim, in Revelation’s vision of redemptive-recreation, those who are
cleansed from sin “will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the
gates,” which are always open (21:25). A surface read might lead to the
conclusion that Revelation is pointing merely to regained access to the tree
of life and resultant eternal life. However, the metaphors of the tree of life
and entering the city emerge as an icon not only of blessing, but also of moral
orientation and choice. This is a city unlike all cities we have known. It will
be without sin—righteousness pervades, dwells (2 Pet 3:13).14 The tree in the
garden-like city is the archetype of blessing, but also blessing’s consummation
or telos.15 Yet such blessing comes with intentional moral nuance and ethical
implications.
While Genesis holds up the ephemeral state of Eden for a brief glimpse and
then moves its readers back into their real world (of shame, suffering,
alienation, domination and death), Revelation holds up the passing state of
the real world (of sea, death, mourning, crying, pain, night, curse, violence,
oppression, shame, and alienation from God) and moves its audience back
into the shalom of an eternal Eden. Thus Scripture ends as it begins. The
sweep of salvation history and the end of all things (eschatology) is patterned
after the beginning (protology)—a new creation, i.e., redemptive re-
creation.16 Humanity is again in paradise enjoying full fellowship with God,
at peace with self and others.
Revelation thus posits human moral destiny “back to the future” in the
garden. The tree of life, and with it now, the holy city, is at once critical and
11 William P. Brown, The Ethos of the Cosmos: The Genesis of Moral Imagination in the Bible (Grand
Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999), 228.
12 Ibid., 133-228, 388-394; Middleton, A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical
Eschatology, 171-175. Easley notes how the garden imagery still exerts a strong influence on
the world’s major religions: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. See Easley, Revelation, 413.
13 Brown, The Ethos of the Cosmos: The Genesis of Moral Imagination in the Bible, 219-228.
14 Middleton, A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology, 173.
15 Brown, The Ethos of the Cosmos: The Genesis of Moral Imagination in the Bible, 226.
16 See Warren Austin Gage, The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology (Winona
17 Brown, The Ethos of the Cosmos: The Genesis of Moral Imagination in the Bible, 219.
18 Each of Revelation’s seven blessings is “linked to the ethical purpose of the book, with
some exhorting the saints to persevere and live exemplary lives in light of these prophecies
(1:3; 16:15; 22:7), and others promising them future rewards for doing so (14:13; 19:9; 20:6;
22:14)” (Grant R. Osborne, Revelation, ed. Moisés Silva (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic,
2002), 57; Virgil P. Cruz. "The Beatitudes of the Apocalypse: Eschatology and Ethics," in
Perspectives On Christology: Essays in Honor of Paul K. Jewett, ed. Marguerite Schuster and Richard
Muller (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991)).
19 “The book contains information for the mind, but it is information that entails ethical
obligation. That the book has an ultimate ethical aim is borne out by the conclusion in 22:6–
21, which is an intentional expansion of the prologue in 1:1–3, and especially by the ethical
emphasis of 1:3 (cf. the phraseological parallels in 22:7b, 9b, 10b, 18a, 19a)” (G. K. Beale,
The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text, ed. I. Howard Marshall and Donald
A. Hagner (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999), 184).
20 Aune, Revelation 17-22, 1221.
21 Kenneth A. Matthews, Genesis 1-11:26, vol. 1A (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman
Publishers, 1996), 256-257. As Matthews notes, “Life is a divine gift, but it is tied to the
stipulation of obedience. Moses offered the same choice of life or death, obedience or
disobedience, to Israel on the shores of Moab (Deut 30:11-20). Obedience meant life and
prosperity in Canaan, but defiance guaranteed expulsion” (ibid.).
Lichtenwalter – The Tree of Life and Ethics… 161
of utter graciousness,” the tree of life and the tree of knowledge disclose
both the character of God’s graciousness and the moral quality of the life,
which His grace envisions.22 There is no cheap grace here. No life free of
moral orientation or responsibility is envisioned.23
In the first paradise the tree of life had a two-fold significance. First, the tree
of life had the power of giving perpetual, physical earthly life to human
beings, even after they sinned, so that it was necessary to bar the way to the
tree of life after the fall (Gen. 3:22).24
Secondly, the tree conveyed “a certain sacramental character.”25 It was the
tree of life. More importantly though is that human life is more than mere
perpetual physical existence. Even though human life was earthly,
nevertheless life for human beings implied favor and fellowship with God as
well as moral correspondence with His character and the moral meaning
invested in created intelligent life. After all, man and woman were made in
God’s image (Gen 1:26, 27). Together they were appointed stewards of God’s
good creation (Gen 1:28). The tree of life was a sign and seal of God’s favor,
an emblem of God’s covenant with human beings.26
The moral vision, which the tree of life casts, was not mere physical existence,
but life in the true sense. It assumed moral being and action “true-to-life.”
(Prov. 15:4), and wisdom (Prov. 3:18). This includes what Proverbs elsewhere
characterizes as “Lady Wisdom”28 who metaphorically IS “a tree of life to those
who embrace her, and those who hold her tightly live happy lives” (Prov. 3:18). The
imagery of embracing (hazaq) her and holding her tightly (tamak) underscore
the personal moral and spiritual quality of identifying with wisdom, and thus
experiencing genuine happiness (authentic life). It is as if one eats from the
tree of life because such wisdom imparts REAL life: is in keeping with life’s
essence, purpose, meaning and vitality. This is what is sought—not just life
itself, but life free of shame and guilt, life full of honor and innocence, life
which finds fullness of joy in fearing God and intimacy with Him. It is life as
it was meant to be—in God’s image, reflecting God’s character and being.
This correspondence between ethics and authentic life is further expressed
in Proverbs where “personified wisdom” declares “For he who finds me finds life
and obtains favor from the LORD. But he who sins against me injures himself; All those
who hate me love death” (Prov. 8:35, 36). Here, finding life is linked to the self
(nephesh).29 What one does with moral spiritual truth goes beyond mere
physical existence. It touches one’s being, one’s inner private world of
character, values, thought, intent, affections, heart. This is the ethical
landscape where life is either: found, sinned against, or hated. True life and
favor with God are contrasted with injuring self and loving death. True life
is experienced only when one lives “true to life.”30 Thus the tree of life—in
Eden, wisdom literature, and John’s Apoclaypse—reflects a morality “true to
life” as God has ordained human beings created in His image.
28 Tremper Longman, How To Read Proverbs (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002),
30-45; William P. Brown, Character In Crisis: A Fresh Approach to the Wisdom Literature of the
Old Testatment (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996), 22,
23; Ernest C. Lucas, Exploring the Old Testament: A Guide to the Pslams & Wisdom Literature,
vol. 3 (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2003), 107-109. Proverb’s Lady Wisdom is
associated with righteousness (Prov 8:6), truth (Prov 8:7), wholesome behavior (Prov 8:8)
and good judgment (Prov 8:12). She is associated with common sense, success, insight and
strength (Prov 8:14-15). She stays as far away as possible from deception, evil, pride, and
arrogance (Prov 8:7-8, 13). Woman wisdom is closely entwined with moral spiritual
behavior.
29 “vv. 35–36 is a two-proverb collection with elements of both parallelism and inclusio in
which the proverbs together form an ethical merismus. ‘Finds me’ (v. 35) is paralleled by
‘fails to find me’ in v. 36, and ‘life’ in v. 35 is answered by ‘death’ in v. 36. Obtaining the
Lord’s favor contrasts embracing death” (Duane Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs
(Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1993), 110). See also Murphy’s discussion of “The
Personification of Wisdom”, in Roland Murphy, Ecclesiastes (Dallas, TX: Word, 1998), 144-
148.
30 Numerous other proverbs link the moral quality of life chosen and lived with corresponding
positive or negative affects of the quality of moral/spiritual life actually experienced (Prov.
1:19; 3:2, 16, 22; 4:22, 23; 10:11; 12:10, 28; 14:30; 21:21; 29:24).
Lichtenwalter – The Tree of Life and Ethics… 163
31 Miroslav Volf, Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and
Reconciliation (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1996), 63.
32 Eugene F. Roop, Genesis (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1987), 41.
33 Ibid., 48.
34 2:9, 17; 3:1-17
35 Brueggemann, Genesis, 46.
36 Larry L. Lichtenwalter, "Are There Moral Absolutes?," in Always Prepared: Answers to Questions
About Our Faith, ed. Humberto M. Rasi and Nancy J. Vyhmeister (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press
Publishing Association, 2012), 131-132; John Wesley Taylor, "Is Truth of Consequence?,"
Perspective Digest, 14, no. 3 (2009): 9; Paul Tillich, "What Is Truth," Canadian Journal of Theology,
1, no. 2 (1955): 117-122.
164 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
40 According to Gen. 3:24 and Ezek 28:14, 16 angels act as guardians of Eden, the garden of
God, and since the New Jerusalem is the eschatological counterpart of Eden (2:7; 22:1-5),
angelic guards at its gates seem appropriate (see Aune’s discussion, ibid., 1154-1155).
41 Ibid., 1175. Aune explains how notions of ritual purity (unclean, i.e., koinos and akathartos),
a central religious category in early Judaism, carried over into early Christianity and
eventually transformed into an exclusively moral category (Matt. 15:11, 18, 20; Mk. 7:2, 5,
15, 18, 20, 23; Heb. 9:13; Acts 10:14, 15, 28; 11:8, 9; 21:28; Rom. 14:14; Heb. 10:29). See
Aune’s extended discussion, ibid., 1174, 1175.
42 Ibid., 1131.
166 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
'Soul' and Related Anthropological Imagery in John's Apocalypse," Journal of the Adventist
Theologial Society, 26, no. 1 (2015): 64-66.
Lichtenwalter – The Tree of Life and Ethics… 167
beings embody Babylon’s value system. They have been squeezed into her
cultural/moral mold (cf. Rom 12:2).
This Babylon imagery unfolds a worldview and resultant encapsulating
culture—and ethics. Human beings invest their future security and hope in
her. They have either bought into or merely outwardly support her moral
vision, which includes marked anti-creational actions that tear at right
relationships with God, humanity, and all creation.46 This brings the chaos
engendering reversal of creation depicted throughout the Apocalypse, but
especially at earth’s close. Within the narrative the forces of chaos threatening
to undo God’s creation subvert the very principles that promote and protect
the life and well-being of the community.47
The anti-creation forces driving Babylon would be worshiped. They prescribe
how that worship is to be (13:14-17). There is an ethic to go with that
worship.48 Babylon thus creates her own worldview, culture and ethics. Fallen
Babylon is a spiritual/moral frame of reference that both influences and
determines concrete human behavior.
Thus, coming out of Babylon includes a moral escape—not just theological
or doctrinal escape.49 The invitation to come out of her is both personal and
concrete—“so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; for her
sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities” (18:4-5).
It is a strong wake-up call to break off personal identification with any
religious moral political system that is not in line with the Eternal Gospel and
the corresponding life it envisions in the New Jerusalem.50
There will ever always be a personal moral dimension to the theology of
Revelation or it does not fit real human life. Revelation’s moral vision is cast
46 Cf. 9:21; 21:8, 27; 22:15; 11:18; 17:1-6; 14:8; 18:1-24. The reference in 11:18—“to destroy
those who destroy the earth”—to the antediluvian world depicted in Genesis chapter 6
freights powerful anti-creational imagery.
47 For discussion on the link between redemption, law and the reclamation of creation see,
Sabbath and Sabbath Theology in the Book of Revelation: Creation, Covenant, Sign,"
Andrews University Seminary Studies, 49, no. 2 (2011): 304-305.
49 Beale, The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text, 898.
50 Stefanovic, Revelation of Jesus Christ: Commentary on the Book of Revelation Second Edition, 523-538.
168 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
51 Joseph L. Trafton, Reading Revelation: A Literary and Theological Commentary, ed. Charles H.
Talbert (Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys, 2005), 213; Edith M. Humphrey. "A Tale of Two
Cities and (At Least) Three Women," in Reading the Book of Revelation: A Resource for Students,
ed. David L. Barr (Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003).
52 Aune, Revelation 17-22, 1219. Parallel imagery is found in Revelation 7:14 where the
redeemed, standing before the throne, are said to have “washed their robes and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb” (i.e., signifying the saving and purifying effect of
appropriating the sacrificial death of Christ) and in Revelation 3:4 where some Christians
in Sardis are referred to as those “who have not soiled their clothes” (i.e., a metaphor for
continuing faithfulness to their Christian commitment. See Aune’s discussion of the
possible meanings for the metaphor of washing one’s garments, i.e., (1) Christian baptism,
(2) the decision to lead a morally upright life, or (3) martyrdom (ibid., 1220-1221).
53 Ibid., 1220.
54 The King James Version reads “they that do his commandments” rather than “wash their
robes,” but both internal evidence and the earliest and best manuscripts support the latter
(Stefanovic, Revelation of Jesus Christ: Commentary on the Book of Revelation, 616, 617).
55 Aune, Revelation 17-22, 1220.
56 Ibid. In Num. 8:21 “the Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes.”
57 Cf. Heb 9:9, 14; 10:1-4, 14-17, 22, 23.
58 See Aune discussion, Aune, Revelation 17-22, 1221. “The closest parallel is 16:9, where God
is referred to as τοῦ ἔχοντος τὴν ἐξουσίαν ἐπὶ τὰς πληγὰς ταύτας, “the one who has authority
over these plagues.” Ibid.
Lichtenwalter – The Tree of Life and Ethics… 169
Only those who has experience such gracious opportunity will be able fully
grasp its existential implications. It is the stuff of joyful praise and new song
(14:1-4; 15:1-4).
Such “right” has nothing to do with merit. It is an imparted right. Exousia in
the Apocalypse reflects the sovereign Lordship of God in a fallen world
where nothing takes place apart from His exousia or authority. The exousia,
which other moral beings (including evil entities) might have (or are granted),
is based on His Lordship.59
While imparted though, exousia nevertheless suggests a moral and spiritual
correspondence between the one having (or granted) the “right” or
“authority” or “power” on the one hand, and the moral/spiritual nature of
what that “right” or “authority” or “power” is over, on the other hand. This
includes how one acts in the moral spiritual political realm of things. At
Revelation’s epochal cosmic conflict turning point, it is loudly announced
“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the
authority (exousia) of His Christ have come” (12:10). Christ’s substitutionary
death and resurrection brings about a new historical reality with
corresponding moral authority for Him as the world’s Redeemer. Theodicy
implications for the Great Controversy are tacit and illuminative. The point
here though, is that such authority is linked to one’s action in the
moral/spiritual realm. It is not devoid of ethics, moral orientation, or action.
This moral and spiritual correspondence between the right to something and
over what that right entails (exousia) is found also in the imagery of the
144,000 who on the one hand “wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb”
(7:14) and on the other hand, as a result of and in keeping with their
redemptive experience (14:3, 4), exhibit blameless lives (14:4, 5). Theirs is the
incredible privilege of standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion (14:1). Not
their own doing, but nevertheless in heart and mind and choice of life—very
much in harmony with what it means morally and spiritually to follow the
Lamb (14:4).
59 TDNT:566. Nearly a fifth (21 of the 108) of the NT use of evxousi,a occurs in Revelation
(2:26; 6:8; 9:3, 10, 19; 11:6; 12:10; 13:2, 4, 5, 7, 12; 14:18; 16:9; 17:12, 13; 18:1; 20:6; 22:14).
While God has ultimate exousia, it is given to various entities including the AntiChrist beast
for his final activity (13:2, 5, 7). That he was “given authority to act” implies that even the
rule of the AntiChrist does not take place apart from the will of God (ibid., 568). Likewise
the “authority of His Christ” at the overthrow of Satan with the fulfilment of the work of
the cross both demonstrates and posits God’s right of authority to act (12:10). The word is
indispensable to express the fact that created beings cannot take anything or do anything
on their own, but that it has to be given to us. Authority or “right” is imparted. Created
beings are are enabled (ibid., 566, 569).
170 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
60 Even the apostate woman Babylon is “given” judgment in relation to her actions and
attitudes (18:6-7).
61 Beale, The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text, 277.
62 Ibid.
63 E. Tiedtke, "Right, Worthy," NIDNTT 3:348-349. “ἄξιος, ἀνάξιος,” TDNT 1:379.
Lichtenwalter – The Tree of Life and Ethics… 171
completely sacred space with doors ever open to the outside (21:25), where
evil lurks, is important for understanding Revelation’s moral vision.64 It
suggests eternity’s enduring moral reality. Moral boundaries still exist as
values expressed in God’s character and eternal laws endure. Freedom of
choice still exists both now and through eternity. Following the eschaton,
however, evil will never again come within the city because no one will either
bring it in or invite it in (21:27). Such things will ever be inconsistent with
“life.”
Thus the tree, and the city, appearing as they do in Revelation’s conclusion,
are at once critical and instructive. They present a paradox of hope and
judgment, a moral baseline that eschews moralism.65 The tree, together with
the city’s spirit—ethos—remains an ever-present hope for humankind. To
return to the Genesis garden—to the land before shame and suffering and
alienation and death—involves a moral advancement, not a regression; a
reawakening, not a reversion; a transformation, not human endeavor; moral
boundaries and choice, not relativity or indifference. Grace and cleansing
blood both undergird and empower the entire experience (1:4; 22:21; 7:14;
22:14; 12:11).
The Apocalypse thus envisions a morality consistent with human life, which
God created in His own image, so much so that physical life itself is not the
ultimate value. There are those who will “not love their life even when faced
with death” (12:11). They are willing to be faithful unto death (2:10). Why
so? Because there are things about human life (in relation to one’s self, to
others, and to God), which are both worth living for and dying for. True life
is experienced only when one chooses and lives “true to life.” Death is better
than the moral alternative.
Taken together “the” exousia to the tree of life and entry through the gates
into the city point to moral correspondence with those realities. Something,
which the moral agent receives from God via the Lamb’s work, yet which one
receives because they value it, avail themselves of it, and allows the Lamb to
empower them to live in harmony with.
Revelation asserts that the gates to the New Jerusalem are always open (21:15;
cf. Isa 60:11). So also is access to the tree of life. And yet there are categories
of people who are outside the gates (22:15) as well as gracious Holy Spirit
invitation to partake of that which gives true life (22:17). The text affirms
that the reader can choose to either be either inside or outside the city. Such
64 David L. Barr, Tales of the End: A Narrative Commentary on the Book of Revelation (Santa Rosa,
CA: Polebridge Press, 1998), 117.
65 Brown, The Ethos of the Cosmos: The Genesis of Moral Imagination in the Bible, 219.
172 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
choice is linked to both existential longing and inner moral orientation. There
must be desire and choice. Such choice is ours still.
The imagery of the Lamb’s Book of Life (21:27), blood washed robes (7:14;
22:14), tree of life (22:2, 14) and access to the eternal city (21:3-7; 27; 22:14)
presents a wonderful picture of stability and security.66 The believer is a
citizen of the heaven no matter what the forces of evil do.67 Here is awesome
assurance!
Resumen
Se revela aquí el hallazgo de uno de los cuatro tomos del libro del padre Manuel
Lacunza, con las anotaciones al margen de Francisco Hermógenes Ramos Mejía
(1773-1828), un criollo, un hacendado, un educador, un defensor de los derechos de
los indios y un estudioso de las Sagradas Escrituras. Creía en la autoridad de la Biblia,
en la salvación por la fe, en la segunda venida de Jesús y respetaba el sábado bíblico.
Abstract
The finding of one of the four volumes of the book of Father Manuel Lacunza is
revealed here, with annotations on the margin of Francisco Hermógenes Ramos
Mejía (1773-1828), a Creole, a landowner, an educator, a defender of the rights of
the Natives and a scholar of the Holy Scriptures. He believed in the authority of the
Bible, in salvation by faith, in the second coming of Jesus and respected the biblical
Sabbath. The peculiar combination of doctrines he had did not exist in any of the
Protestant churches of his time, nor are they found again until Seventh-day
Adventism, almost twenty years after his death.
Résumé
La découverte d’un des quatre volumes du livre du père Manuel Lacunza est révélée
ici, avec des annotations en marge de Francisco Hermógenes Ramos Mejía (1773-
1828), un créole, un propriétaire terrien, un éducateur, un défenseur des droits de la
Indiens et érudit des Saintes Écritures. Il croyait à l’autorité de la Bible, au salut par
la foi, à la seconde venue de Jésus et respectait le sabbat biblique. La singulière
combinaison de doctrines qu’il avait n’existait dans aucune des églises protestantes
de son temps, et elles ne se retrouvent plus jusqu’à l’adventisme du septième jour,
près de vingt ans après sa mort.
2 Le Roy Edwin Froom, The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers (Washington, DC: Review & Herald,
1946), 3:303-326, titula el capítulo “Un testigo católico conmueve dos continentes” (Europa
Caïrus – Hallazgo de una importante fuente primaria… 175
y las Américas). Daniel Hammerly Dupuy, Defensores latinoamericanos de una gran esperanza
(Buenos Aires, Argentina: Casa Editora Sudamericana, 1954), 79-95.
3 Hammerly Dupuy, 104, nota de la página 9.
4 Ibíd., 102-111.
176 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
5 Para el Río de la Plata, véase ibíd., 83-87, y además “Repercusiones en México”, 172-183.
Caïrus – Hallazgo de una importante fuente primaria… 177
6 En estas fechas el Cabildo se arrogó el gobierno de las provincias del Plata (hoy Bolivia,
Paraguay, Uruguay y Argentina), de modo que Ramos Mejía actuó también virtualmente
como legislador.
7 Véanse los trabajos de C. Ricci en La Reforma: “En la penumbra de la historia” (diciembre
1913); “Francisco Ramos Mexía: Un heterodoxo argentino” (julio 1923); “Francisco Ramos
Mexía y el padre Lacunza” (mayo 1929).
8 Véase especialmente Hammerly Dupuy, 115-141; y Juan Carlos Priora, Don Francisco
Hermógenes Ramos Mexía (Buenos Aires, Argentina: Asociación Casa Editora Sudamericana,
2008).
178 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Ideas protestantes
Algunas de tales ideas ya habían sido descriptas por C. Ricci, y el nuevo
material las confirma y permite ampliarlas. El número que aparece en estas
muestras junto al margen izquierdo es la página del tomo 4 de Lacunza, sobre
la que comenta Ramos Mejía.
1) La sola Biblia. Ya C. Ricci había citado del tomo que nos ocupa:
219 “¡Sujetemonos pues ya á lo que nos digan las Escrituras de Dios, y no á
las de los hombres! ¡Hombres que tanto se contradicen!”
Este principio se puede ampliar ahora en otras notas:
56 “Estemos pues al contexto de la escritura según la misma Vulgata [su única
versión]; y a todos los contextos de todas las Escrituras”.
83 En tanto que Lacunza sostenía que “…deben seguirse naturálmente todas
estas conseqüéncias [proféticas] anunciadas en la Escritura de la verdad”,
Ramos Mejía se queja de que la enseñanza teológica católica que él recibió
hacía aplicaciones arbitrarias (en este caso particular marianas) de la Biblia y
negaba que Cristo, quien es la sabiduría de Dios (Prov 8; cf. 1 Cor 1:30),
pudiera entender del futuro mediante las profecías:
83 “Roma y sus misioneron nos enseñaban que [ni] las Escrituras, ni Jesu-
Christo entendian de estas cosas; y cantaban en latin, aplicado a la virgen
María: Cum eo eram, cuncta componens, et delectabar per singulos dies [=con él estaba
yo, cuando él ordenaba todo, y se deleitaba en mí día tras día] &c. Proverb.
cap. 8 v. 30. Véase todo el capitulo”.
Y continúa en la misma vena:
87-89 “¡Quantas cosas mas no sabríamos entre todos, si los que han pegado
fuego al Mundo con las llaves y anillo del Pescador, les huvieran dicho a los
Pueblos, que le preguntasen a la Escritura el Porqué… del defec-[89]-to de la
ecliptica [que Lacunza relaciona con el Diluvio], de tantas cosas malas de la
tierra, y de la presente Revolucion!”
Así también, cuando Lacunza dice (p. 95): “Á mí no me es posible hablar de
todo; mas a vos [el lector] os será facilísimo leerlo todo, y examinarlo todo á
vuestra satisfacción… Para esta leccion [=lectura], y examen de que hablo,
no es menester un grande ingenio, ni una grande erudicion, ni una grande
notícia de la lengua Hebrea, &c.”, Ramos Mejía añade un pasaje
180 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
9 A saber: (a) que la condición de “piedra basal” en el edificio de la iglesia (Mat 16:18) le fue
asignada a Pedro, no meramente por su reconocimiento de Jesús como Mesías (contra Mat
16:16-17; Rom 10:8-11) sino (b) en forma personal y exclusiva (contra Ef 2:20; cf. Mat 16:19
con 18:18-20; Jn 20:21-23), (c) que los apóstoles tienen sucesores (contra Hch 1:21-22), (d)
que Pedro fue el obispo de Roma (contra Gál 2:11-12, que lo ubica en Antioquía) y (e) que
ejerció el primado en la iglesia primitiva (contra Hch 15:13-21, que muestra en su lugar a
Jacobo). Cualquiera de estos eslabones antibíblicos que se rompa corta la cadena.
Caïrus – Hallazgo de una importante fuente primaria… 181
Ideas evangélicas
Estas son las ideas presentes en las “iglesias protestantes libres” por
influencia de pensadores como Juan Calvino y Zwinglio, si bien en Ramos
Mejía no hay rastros del predestinacionismo de Calvino.
a) Eucaristía simbólica. El carácter antibíblico del dogma católico sobresale en
la concepción de la Eucaristía:
133 “Sobre todo, en lo que mas ha hecho Roma de las suyas, es en quanto a
su Sacramento del Pan, y vino”.
220 “Su verdadero rubor está en confesar, como indirectamente lo confiesan,
que todos los templos que vemos son otros tantos Cafeses [=cafés, bares] de
Pan y vino con titulo de Religion y Piedad”.
Al citar 1 Cor 11:23 en la pág. 239, Ramos Mejía comenta que “Jamás [lo]
entenderán… todos aquellos que se aferraron en el pan y vino material”. Y
se asombra (pág. 338) de que Roma llame “¡Accidentes, ó modos, ó sombras
de la Imaginacion, al Pan, y vino de su Sacramento!”, en vez de reconocer
que después de la consagración las especies subsisten realmente como pan y
vino. En consecuencia (pág. 379) es “en el Pan y vino, donde Roma coloca á
su Dios” (subrayado original). Y tal dogma es idolatría, como ya lo había
remarcado en el tomo III:10
III 151 “Así como adorando a una piedra bruta, sería idolatrar el decir esta
piedra es Christo; así también con decir, esto es Jesu-Christo, no se puede
salvar la Idolatria en el poco de [h]arina y poco de vino… A quien se calle en
este punto no se le admite justificacion alguna. Apoc., cap. 2, v. 20 [‘Pero
tengo… contra ti: que toleras que esa mujer… seduzca a mis siervos a
fornicar, y a comer cosas sacrificadas a los ídolos’]”.
b) Rechazo del sacerdotalismo. En cierto sentido este punto es corolario del
anterior, pues sacerdote es todo aquel “que es tomado de entre los
hombres… para que presente ofrendas y sacrificios por el pecado” (Heb 5:1).
Tanto la iglesia católica romana, como las ortodoxas y orientales, y en menor
medida también la anglicana y luterana, entienden que los ministros de la
11 Ibíd.
Caïrus – Hallazgo de una importante fuente primaria… 183
Ideas adventistas
a) Inminencia de la segunda venida. Si bien la mayoría de las iglesias evangélicas
hoy creen en una segunda venida premilenial, y por lo tanto potencialmente
inminente, la convicción arranca con el movimiento intercontinental
adventista (ya visto en “Influencia de Lacunza”). Ramos Mejía anota con
cuidado los cuatro tomos de su obra, aunque discrepa con él sobre todo en
184 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
12 Ibíd., 25-26.
Caïrus – Hallazgo de una importante fuente primaria… 185
El único objeto de la nota es retraducir corpus sine spiritu como “cuerpo sin su
Razon”, equiparando a esta (la mente) con el espíritu. El resto de la nota solo
repite a Lacunza.
c) Aniquilación de los impíos. En el pensamiento de Ramos Mejía hay lugar para
penas eternas, pero solo para un grupo selecto de impíos. Véase la siguiente
cita bíblica de Lacunza, y después su comentario por Ramos Mejía, señalado
con *:
369-371 “[‘Pero los enemigos del Señor pronto, después de ser honrados y
exaltados, se desvanecerán como humo’, Sal 36:20 Vg (37:20 RV)]…”*
* “Conversacion! Los enemigos de Jesus han de ir precisamente á un Suplicio
eterno, ubi vermis eorum non moritur [=donde su gusano no muere, Is 66:24]…
No los pobres miserables: Si nada piden, nada se les [pág. 370] dará. ¿Jesus
juntará acaso la oveja mala con el lobo malo? ¿[Juntará] la teología, según sus
diferentes generos, con la miserable ignorancia? Mentira… men-[371]-tira.
Mentira. Los pobres serán los que han de desaparecer como el humo”.
Es decir, la mayoría de los impíos son “oveja mala” pero no “lobos”; estos
últimos son “los enemigos de Jesús”. La vida eterna él la ofrece libre y
generosamente a todos, pero a quien no la pide no se la dará. En
consecuencia, los que no han acudido a Cristo “han de desaparecer como el
humo”. Véase en forma completa la siguiente nota ya vista en forma parcial:
387-388 “El Ignorante q.e cierra los ojos (cui dedit unum talentum [=al cual dio
un único talento]), [pág. 388] ese es como un Bruto, del qual deben hartarse
las aves. Si es del numero de la Briboneria, tendrá lugar aparte, ubi vermis non
moritur et ignis non extinguitur [=donde el gusano no muere y el fuego no se
apaga, Is 66:24]”.
Además de Isaías capítulo 66, Ramos Mejía parece haber sido influido por el
tormento “por los siglos de los siglos” de Ap 14:10-11, ya que “la bestia y su
imagen” son en este libro los enemigos de Jesús (19:11-20). En la pág. 331
parece implicar que no conocía el idioma griego, aunque su formación
teológica le dio un excelente dominio del latín, que manejaba con soltura. Por
tanto, probablemente carecía de las herramientas lingüísticas para cuestionar
la interpretación común de “los siglos de los siglos” (griego eis ton aioona).
Sobre todo, estaba muy aislado (en el tiempo y el espacio) de otros creyentes
adventistas que como él llegarían a creer en la muerte del alma y la
aniquilación de los impíos, como para comparar y revisar sus convicciones.
Pero nótese que admitir un suplicio eterno para los enemigos de Jesús no
afectaría sus convicciones antropológicas, porque la bestia y el falso profeta
186 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
13 Priora, 184-185.
Caïrus – Hallazgo de una importante fuente primaria… 187
hasta los cerca de 20 millones del adventismo del séptimo día en la actualidad.
Este número es mayor que el de muchos estados nacionales, e incluso que la
combinación de varios estados nacionales juntos. Pero el número de
adherentes no puede ser criterio para juzgar la verdad de una creencia.
Tampoco se trata de ideas extranjeras. El manuscrito de Ramos Mejía que
nos ha ocupado muestra que no hay nada específicamente anglosajón o
norteamericano en esta creencia. Por el contrario, demuestra que el estudio
de la Biblia bajo la dirección del Espíritu Santo llevó a creyentes de distintas
razas y latitudes a las mismas convicciones. Por lo tanto, no es necesaria la
presencia de misioneros ni ninguna otra conexión personal para explicar estas
creencias. El mismo hecho de que Ramos Mejía no pudiera iniciar un
movimiento históricamente continuo similar al de Miller, Bates o J. White,
que son posteriores pero independientes de él, muestra que no es necesaria
una cadena de transmisión histórica para generar coincidencias teológicas.
Las páginas anteriores de ningún modo agotan las conclusiones que se
pueden obtener del estudio de este documento que inesperadamente el Señor
ha puesto en nuestras manos en estos últimos días. Solo pretenden dar a la
investigación un empujón inicial. Pero aun si no pudieran lograrse otras, estas
conclusiones lo muestran como un documento precioso.
HÉCTOR O. MARTÍN1
Abstract
The present article is an exegetical study in which the motif of “Jesus-drinking cup”
in John 18:11 is explored. In the first part, it highlights that the noun pothvrion, is
located in a linguistically marked position. It is due to the use by the Fourth Gospel’s
author of a literary device known as “nominativus pendent construction,” which
emphasizes the significance of the noun “cup” in the narrative. In the second part,
the passage under study is placed in the framework of its literary narrative context of
Jesus’ Passion narrative. The next section reviews the Old Testament backdrop of
the substantive pothvrion. The Old Testament imagery of the cup reaches its pinnacle
in the motif of Jesus’ drinking the cup in the Synoptic gospels. Finally, the study
explores the theological context of the passage in light of the cup motif in the
Synoptic Gospels. This study concludes suggesting the absolute necessity of Christ
of drinking the chalice which represents God’s judicial verdict in order to rescue the
human race; it represents His total surrender to the Father’s will and to face the death
of the cross.
Resumen
El presente artículo es un estudio exegético donde se explora el tema del “beber la
copa” de Jesús en Juan 18:11. En la primera parte, se resalta que el sustantivo pothvrion,
está colocado en una posición lingüísticamente destacada. Esto es debido al uso, por
parte del autor del Cuarto Evangelio, de un recurso literario conocido como
1 Héctor Obed Martín, PhD in New Testament Studies (Adventist International Institute of
Advanced Studies, AIIAS, 2012), teaches at the Instituto Universitario Adventista de
Venezuela’ Adventist Theological Seminary (SETAVEN). He also coordinates the IATS
MAPTh program in that institution. E-mail: heobmartin@gmail.com
192 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Résumé
Le présent article est une étude exégétique dans laquelle le motif de la « coupe à boire
de Jésus » dans Jean 18:11 est exploré. Dans la première partie, il souligne que le nom
pothvrion, est situé dans une position linguistiquement marquée. Cela est dû à
l’utilisation, par l’auteur du Quatrième Évangile, d’un dispositif littéraire connu sous
le nom de « construction nominative pendante », qui souligne la signification du nom
« coupe » dans le récit. Dans la deuxième partie, le passage à l’étude s’inscrit dans le
contexte narratif littéraire du récit de la passion de Jésus. La section suivante passe
en revue la toile de fond de l’Ancien Testament du pothvrion substantif. L’imagerie de
l’Ancien Testament de la coupe atteint son apogée dans le motif de Jésus buvant la
coupe dans les évangiles synoptiques. Enfin, l’étude explore le contexte théologique
du passage à la lumière du motif de la coupe dans les évangiles synoptiques. Cette
étude conclut en suggérant l’absolue nécessité du Christ de boire le calice qui
représente le verdict judiciaire de Dieu afin de sauver la race humaine ; il représente
son abandon total à la volonté du Père et à faire face à la mort de la croix.
Introducción
T HE TEXT: “Jesus, therefore, said to Peter, ‘Put your sword into its
sheath. The cup that the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?’”
(Juan 18:11, YLT).
εἶπεν οὖν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τῷ Πέτρῳ· βάλε τὴν μάχαιραν εἰς τὴν θήκην·
τὸ ποτήριον ὃ δέδωκέν μοι ὁ πατὴρ οὐ μὴ πίω αὐτό;2
2 Eberhard Nestle et al., The Greek New Testament, 27th ed. (Stuttgart, Germany: Deutsche
Bibelgesellschaft, 1993), Jn 18:11.
Martín – “The Cup that the Father has given Me”… 193
Grammatical Analysis
The passage mentioned above expresses Jesus’ reaction against Peter because
of his aggressive act against the high priest’ servant. It contains four
independent clauses, the last two of them being part of a rhetorical question.
The first clause (C1) shows the structure predicate-subject-complement. In
this configuration the aorist εἶπεν functions as the predicate, the substantive
ὁ Ἰησοῦς works as the nominal subject, and the indirect object Πέτρῳ as the
complement. The second clause (C2) depicts a predicate-complement
construction, constituted by the imperative βάλε as the predicate, and the
double accusative construction τὴν μάχαιραν εἰς τὴν θήκην, in which
μάχαιραν roles as the object in an object-complement construction, and
θήκην as complement in an object-complement structure.3 The third clause
(C3) presents a complement-predicate-subject structure. In this arrangement
the pendent nominative τὸ ποτήριον functions as the complement, the
consummative perfect δέδωκέν as the predicate, and the nominative noun ὁ
πατὴρ as the grammatical subject. The last clause (C4) displays a predicate-
complement structure, being the emphatic negation subjunctive πίω the
predicate, and the pronominal accusative αὐτό the direct object. The passage
then could be diagramming as it is presented below:
3 For the identification of the components in a double accusative construction, see Daniel B.
Wallace, “Semantic and Exegetical Significance of Object-Complement Construction in the
NT,” Grace Theological Journal 6, no. 1 (1985): 106-108.
194 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Literary Context
John 18:11 belongs to the narrative about Jesus’ arrest (18:1-11).19 Verse 1
put forward the setting for the scene in the garden.20 It presents Jesus’ going
with his disciples crossing the narrow valley of Kidron and entering into the
garden. Verses 2-4a introduce the character of Judas; his knowledge about
the place (v. 2), and his leading of the Roman cohort and the officers,
together with the chief priests and the Pharisees to the site (v. 3); and Jesus’
anticipation about what is about to happen Him and his attitude of stepping
forward to meet the mob (v. 4a).
Verses 4b-7 presents Jesus’ encounter with those coming to arrest Him. In
4b Jesus asks them “Whom do you seek?” In verse 5 gives the crowd answer
“Jesus the Nazarene.” Jesus’ answer to the horde and the subsequence
reaction is registered in verse 6. After hearing the answer they drew back and
fell to the ground.21 In verse 7 Jesus then repeats the question to the
multitude and receives the same answer: “Jesus the Nazarene.” After that
Jesus answers them and requested to let the disciples go (v. 8). The author
comments that it was in fulfillment of the word Jesus previously spoke (v.
9).22
Verses 10-11 depict Jesus’ arrest proper. They describe Peter’s attack on the
high priest’s slave and the severing of his ear (v. 10), and Jesus’ reaction to
Peter’s violent act (v. 11). His affirmation that He must drink the “cup” put
17 Cf. Luke 18:7 where the ED occurs also in a rhetorical question which is expected an
affirmative answer. Also Barret, St. John, 522; J. H. Bernard, The Gospel According to St. John,
The International Critical Commentary, 2 (Edinburgh, Scotland: T & T Clark, 1999), 590.
18 Bultmann, The Gospel of John, 641, footnote.
19 It is not the scope of this article to present a detailed analysis of the relation between the
Johannine account of the arrest of Jesus and the account of the Synoptic Gospels. However,
some observations regarding certain specific details will be made in the ongoing process of
studying the passage.
20 Verse 1 introduces asyndetically the scenario after Jesus concludes His intercessory prayer.
21 Günter Reim thinks that what the Jesus of the Fourth Gospel effects on the people who
want to arrest Him is the messianic fulfillment of the Psalm 45. See Günter Reim, “Jesus as
God in the Fourth Gospel: The Old Testament Background,” New Testament Studies 30, no.
1 (1984): 159.
22 Cf. John 6:39; 17:12.
196 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
the emphasis on this term. The next part will explore the background of the
substantive ποτήριον in the biblical historical tradition.
Historical-Cultural Background
In the Greek OT the noun ποτήριον, “cup” occurs in thirty three instances.23
The substantive is used in both literal and figurative sense. In the literal sense
it describes “a vessel used for drinking” (in Gk. lit. mostly from drinking
wine).24 It refers to the ποτήριον Φαραὼ “Pharaoh’s cup” into which the
cupbearer squeezed the graves (Gen 40:11, 13, 21); the cup from which the
little ewe lamb in the parable of the prophet Nathan to David drank of (1
Sam 12:3); the fashion of some furniture in Solomon’s palace (1 Kgs 7:12,
26; 2 Chr 4:5); and the golden vessels of various kinds used in Ahasuerus’
banquet (Esth 1:7).
In figurative sense, ποτήριον is employed as an expression “for destiny in
both good and bad sense.”25 In a positive way, the psalmist says that the Lord
is ἡ μερὶς τῆς κληρονομίας μου καὶ τοῦ ποτηρίου μου “the portion of my
inheritance and my cup” (Ps 15:5); he affirms that, since He is his Shepherd,
his “cup overflows” (Ps 22:5); and of the many benefits he have received
from Him, he, as an expression of gratitude, shall lift up the ποτήριον
σωτηρίου the “cup of salvation” (Ps 115:4). Negatively, the psalmist says that
the Lord will rain fire and brimstone and burning wind upon the wicked.
That “will be the portion of their cup” (Ps 10:6); he declares that God abases
the proud. He will pour out of his Hand “a cup of foaming wine, well mixed,”
and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs (Ps 74:9).
The cup is also used as a figure of God’s wrath either against His people or
foreign nations. The prophet Habakkuk declares against Judah that ποτήριον
δεξιᾶς Κυρίου “the cup in the Lord’s right hand” and “disgrace” will come
upon her (Hab 2:16). God through the prophet Isaiah addresses Jerusalem in
the exile, who has drunk from the Lord τὸ ποτήριον τοῦ θυμοῦ “the cup of
anger,” and τὸ κόνδυ τοῦ θυμοῦ “the chalice of fury” (Isa 51:17, 22).
Jeremiah uses the image as symbol of distress upon Judah and the foreign
nations. He mentions, concerning Judah, that the Lord will deny her
23 Genesis 40:11[3x], 13, 21; 2 Sam 12:3; 1 Kgs 7:12; 1 Chr 4:5; Esth 1:7; Pss 10:6; 15:5; 22:5;
74:9; 115:4; Prov 23:31; Psalms of Solomon 8:14; Hab 2:16; Isa 51:17[2x], 22; Jer 16:7; 30:6;
32:15, 17, 28; 42:5; Lam 2:13; 4:21; Ezek 23:31, 32, 33[2x]. Henry Barclay Swete, The Old
Testament in Greek: According to the Septuagint (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press,
1909).
24 Bauer, BDAG, s.v. “pothvrion.”
25 Ibid.
Martín – “The Cup that the Father has given Me”… 197
ποτήριον εἰς παράκλησιν “the cup for consolation” in the upcoming tragedy
(Jer 16:7). Later, after the enemy invasion, he mourn over her because
ἐμεγαλύνθη ποτήριον συντριβῆς “the cup of ruin is made vast” (Lam 2:13).
He also declares that Babylon was in the hand of the Lord ποτήριον χρυσοῦν
“a golden cup” intoxicating all the earth whose nations have drunk of her
wine (Jer 28:7). He warn to the foreign nations that will drink from the cup
of the wrath from the Lord’s hand (Jer 32:15, 17, 28); Ammon ouj mh;
ajqw/wqh/:V, “will not go innocent” (Jer 30:11), and for Edom “the cup will
come around” (Lam 4:21). Finally, Ezekiel warns Oholibah (Judah) that she
will drink the cup of her sister Oholab (Samaria), τὸ ποτήριον ἀφανισμοῦ
“the cup of horror and desolation” (Ezek 23:31, 32, 33).
The use of the OT images of the cup such as “the cup in the Lord’s right
hand,” “the cup of anger,” “the chalice of fury,” and “the cup of horror and
desolation,” is a picture of God’s wrathful judgment.26 It represents God’s
legal action against the iniquities of his own people and the foreign nations
as well. This sense of judicial act seems to be the backdrop for the declaration
of Jesus in John 18:11. Then, ποτήριον ὃ δέδωκέν μοι ὁ πατὴρ “the cup
that the Father has given Me” represents the voluntary giving up of Jesus “to
those who will crucify Him by an act of God’s judicial sentence,”27 and οὐ
μὴ πίω αὐτό; represents Jesus’ willingness to accept Father’s decision.28 The
Old Testament imagery of the cup reaches its pinnacle in the motif of Jesus’
drinking the cup in the Synoptic gospels. Next section will focus on it.
26 Hermann Patsch, “pothvrion,” EDNT, 3:142, says: “The cup in or out Yahweh’s hand is an
enduring image of judgment.”
27 Leonhard Goppelt, “pothvrion,” TDNT, 6:153.
28 Although the imagery of the cup is not present in the sufferings of the Servant of God
described in Isaiah 53, the prophet portrays the willingness of the servant to submit himself
to God’s decision, bearing upon himself the iniquities and sins of the people, and pouring
out himself to death.
29 Mark includes the image of the baptism in the last clause of the passage. Jesus says: “or to
are able.” He then says to them, τὸ ποτήριον ὃ ἐγὼ πίνω πίεσθε “the cup
that I drink you shall drink” (Mark 10:39; Matt 20:23). The cup which is laid
on Jesus “is the cup of his Passion and death.”30 When the sons of Zebedee
ask for special share in Jesus’ kingly ruling, the reply of the Lord is an
intimation not merely to bear the cross which applies to all disciples but of
martyrdom. The question: “Can you drink of the cup that I drink of?” has in
view, not resolution for the act but acceptance of what God has ordained.31
The Synoptics also account for Jesus’ experience of drinking the cup at
Gethsemane. They report that, at the garden, Jesus ask His Father to pass τὸ
ποτήριον τοῦτο “this cup” from Him (Matt 26:39, cf. 42) or be taken away
from Him (Mark 10:36; Luke 22:42). The demonstrative τοῦτο suggests that
the “cup” means purpose in a negative sense. Jesus sees Himself confronted
no by a cruel destiny, but by the judgment of God. The inexpressible sorrow
and anguish (Mark 14:33; Matt 26:37; Luke 22:44) which gives to the request
to what is approaching might pass from Him is not the fear of a dark fate,
nor apprehension before physical suffering and death, but the horror of the
One who lives by God at being cast from Him, at the judgment which
delivers up the Holy One to the power of sin (Mark 14:41; Matt 26:45; Luke
22:53).32
Only through struggling in prayer Jesus attains the willingness expressed in
John 18:11: “The cup that the Father has given me, shall I not drink it?”
Therefore, the emphatic οὐ μὴ πίω αὐτό; leaves no room for doubt about
Jesus’ necessity of drinking the cup.33
Summary
Our exegetical study of John 18:11 shows: first, the pendent nominative
construction used by the author of the gospel to emphasize and highlight the
significance of the noun pothvrion “cup” in the narrative. The nominative
pothvrion is “dislocated” at the beginnings of C3 and then resumed by the use
of the pronominal αὐτό in C4. In using the construction Pendent
Nominativus + Emphatic Denial + Aorist Subjunctive + Personal Pronoun
in the form of a rhetorical question, the author claims for a strong
affirmation. He wants to emphasize the significance of the noun “cup” in the
narrative. Second, the sense of judicial act derived from the OT imagery of
the cup as the backdrop for the declaration of Jesus in John 18:11. The
ποτήριον ὃ δέδωκέν μοι ὁ πατὴρ “cup that the Father has given me”
represents the voluntary giving up of Jesus into the hands of those who will
murder Him by God’s judicial sentence, and the οὐ μὴ πίω αὐτό; signifies
His willingness to accept Father’s decision. Third, the theological motif of
cup drinking of Jesus in the Synoptic accounts suggests the absolute necessity
of Christ of drinking the chalice which represents God’s judicial verdict in
order to rescue the human race; it represents His total surrender to the
Father’s will and to face the death of the cross.
RUBÉN ALCÁNTARA MALDONADO 1
Resumen
Por su presencia profusa en los escritos de Pablo, sus significados teológicos y sus
implicaciones prácticas en la vida del cristiano, la frase preposicional “en Cristo”
como concepto constituye uno de los temas centrales (leitmotiv) del corpus Paulino
que merece ser estudiado separadamente. Este artículo tiene como objetivo analizar
los significados describiendo las implicaciones soteriológicas, eclesiológicas,
tipológicas y éticas del uso de la expresión “en Cristo” dentro de las epístolas Paulinas
en sus diferentes contextos. También se va a estudiar la relación de este concepto
con la expresión “en el Espíritu” en el marco de la experiencia de la salvación y sus
resultados.
Abstract
Because of its profuse presence in Paul's writings, its theological meanings and its
practical implications in the life of the believer, the prepositional phrase “in Christ”
as a concept constitutes one of the central themes (leitmotiv) of the Pauline corpus
that deserves to be studied separately. This article aims to analyze the meanings
describing the soteriological, ecclesiological, typological and ethical implications of
the use of expression “in Christ” within the Pauline epistles in their different
contexts. The relationship of this concept with the expression “in the Spirit” in the
framework of the experience of salvation and its results will also be studied.
Résumé
En raison de sa présence abondante dans les écrits de Paul, de ses significations
théologiques et de ses implications pratiques dans la vie du chrétien, l’expression
prépositionnelle « du Christ » constitue un des thèmes centraux (leitmotiv) du corpus
1 El pastor Rubén Alcántara Maldonado está terminando una Maestría en Artes en Estudios
Bíblicos Teológicos en el Seminario Teológico Adventista Interamericano. Actualmente es
director del Departamento de Escuela Sabática y Ministerios Personales de la Asociación
Pacífico Sur en la Unión Mexicana Interoceánica. E-mail: ralcma@hotmail.com
202 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Paulinien qui mérite d’être étudié séparément. Cet article vise à analyser les
significations décrivant les implications sotériologiques, ecclésiologiques,
typologiques et éthiques de l'utilisation de l'expression « dans le Christ » à l’intérieur
des épîtres Pauliniennes dans leurs différents contextes. La relation de ce concept
avec l’expression « de l’esprit » dans le contexte de l’expérience du salut et de ses
résultats sera également étudiée.
Introducción
2 James S. Stewart, A man in Christ: The vital elements of St. Paul's religion (Grand Rapids,
MI: Baker Book House, 1975), 154.
3 C. K. Barrett, Paul: An introduction to his thought (Louisville, KY: Westminster/John
Knox Press, 1994), 105.
Alcántara – El concepto Paulino “en Cristo” 203
realizado por A. Deissmann (Die neutestamentliche Formel “in Christo Jesu”, 1892),
quien propuso que el originador de la frase en el uso de las cartas Paulinas
perteneció a Pablo mismo.9 Para Deissmann, citado por Kuss, “la fórmula
constituye la expresión auténticamente Paulina de la comunión más íntima
que cabe imaginar entre el cristiano y el Cristo viviente”.10 Deissmann
básicamente definió la expresión en sentido místico, refiriéndose a una unión
personal e íntima con el Cristo pneumatikós. Dunn explica que para Deissmann
el sentido místico de la expresión fue apropiado para denotar la tendencia
religiosa que descubre el camino directo hacia Dios a través de la experiencia
propia sin la mediación del razonamiento.11 La expresión estar “en Cristo”
se entiende así en su sentido local y supone un encuentro con la Deidad, “que
se concreta por el bautismo y la Cena del Señor de manera mágica como en
los ritos de las religiones de misterio”.12
Es así que estar en Cristo o morir con Cristo expresan una relación muy
estrecha, en la que la razón queda sometida a la experiencia personal y en la
que el creyente es permeado por el Señor glorificado e identificado con el
Espíritu, como un tipo de atmósfera espiritual en la cual el creyente vive.
Dicho de otro modo, de acuerdo a Guthrie, la interpretación mística de la
expresión “en Cristo” quiere decir “que lo que Jesús hizo en el pasado (su
muerte, resurrección, en otras palabras, el evento salvífico), lleva al creyente
a un nivel espiritual que no tiene relación con su situación histórica. La
persona experimenta un cambio moral estando ‘en Cristo’”.13
Este acercamiento místico al concepto ha sido aceptado por muchos
estudiosos y ha sido rebatido también por un buen número de eruditos en
décadas recientes. Sin embargo, cabría ser equilibrados respecto a este sentido
local o místico puesto que efectivamente la frase tiene un uso subjetivo; no
obstante, difiere de lo netamente místico al estilo helenista, en que esta
comunión “en Cristo” ocurre de manera consciente. Stewart advierte de la
aversión al concepto de misticismo por un malentendido semántico entre las
9 Stewart, 156. Cf. Johan C. Becker, Paul the Apostle: The triumph of God in life and thought
(Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press, 1980), 272. En contraste, Becker señala que
Pablo no crea el término, porque esto ocurre en contextos bautismales pre-
Paulinos.
10 Otto Kuss, San Pablo: La aportación del apóstol a la teología de la iglesia primitiva
1981), 649.
Alcántara – El concepto Paulino “en Cristo” 205
14 Stewart, 161.
15 Dunn, 404.
16 Werner G. Kümmel, The Theology of the New Testament: According to its major witnesses,
Rom. 3:24; 6:23; 8:2, 39; 1 Cor. 1:4; 15:22; 2 Cor. 3:14; 5:19; Gál. 2:17; 3:14;
5:6; Fil. 2:5.
2) Uso subjetivo, donde Pablo habla regularmente de los creyentes estando
“en Cristo” o “en el Señor”. Aquí también se incluyen los saludos “en Cristo”
o “en el Señor”. Ejemplos: Rom. 6:11; 8:1; 12:5; 12:5; 16:3; 1 Cor. 1:2; 1:30;
15:18; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gál. 1:22; 2:4; 3:28.
3) Uso hortatorio. La frase ocurre cuando Pablo tiene en vista su propia
actividad o está exhortando a sus lectores a adoptar una particular actitud o
curso de acción. Ejemplos: Rom. 9:1; 1 Cor. 4:15, 17; 16:24; 2 Cor. 2:17;
12:19; Fil. 1:13; 2 Tes. 3:12; Flm. 20.
La frase puede ser usada en varios sentidos, es por eso que no se puede definir
formulísticamente. Sin embargo, en el análisis que se hace a continuación se
advertirán los ricos matices que conlleva esta frase Paulina.
“A partir de los estudios de Deissmann, la preposición en ha sido interpretada
en sentido local, espacial, y Jristos ha sido entendido místicamente como el
Señor glorificado, identificado con el Espíritu (pero no siendo el Espíritu)
como una especie de atmósfera espiritual en la que están sumergidos los
cristianos”;20 es un tipo de relación tan estrecha e íntima que llena y rodea al
creyente. “Mas por él estáis vosotros en Cristo Jesús” (1 Cor. 1:30),21
“bautizados en Cristo Jesús” (Rom. 6:3), “ninguna condenación hay para los
que están en Cristo Jesús” (Rom. 8:1), “porque todos los que habéis sido
bautizados en Cristo, de Cristo estáis revestidos” (Gál. 3:27), “y ser hallado
en él” (Fil. 3:9), “pero si Cristo está en vosotros” (Rom. 8:10) “con Cristo
estoy juntamente crucificado, y ya no vivo yo, mas vive Cristo en mí” (Gál.
2:20).
Es así que estar “en Cristo”, es experimentar una unión con Cristo en sentido
espiritual, “porque el Señor es el Espíritu” (2 Cor. 3:17), “si es que el Espíritu
de Dios mora en vosotros. Y si alguno no tiene el Espíritu de Cristo, no es
de él” (Rom. 8:9). Efectivamente hay una comunión con Cristo pneumatikós
(una relación identificada con las frases “en Cristo” y “en el Espíritu” que de
acuerdo con Stewart son frases cognadas;22 más adelante se dejará entrever
dicha relación), en la que Meinertz abunda:
La comunión con Cristo es tan sobrenatural y gratuita que no es posible
interpretarla como una fusión naturalística, mágica o extática con Cristo, en
el sentido de una mística panteísta de la naturaleza. Sino que se trata de una
23 Meinertz, 414.
24 Ridderbos, 70, 71.
25 Fitzmyer, 178.
26 Guthrie, 651.
27 Becker, 272.
28 Ibíd.
208 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
29 Guthrie, 651.
30 Barrett, 105.
31 Ladd, 638.
32 Ibíd.
33 Joachim Gnilka, Teología de Nuevo Testamento (Madrid, España: Trotta, 1998), 105.
34 F. F. Bruce, The letter of Paul to the Romans: An introduction and commentary (Grand
35 Guthrie, 336.
36 Alan Richardson, An Introduction to the Theology of the New Testament (New York, NY:
Harper and Row, 1958), 251.
37 Ladd, 639.
210 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
38 Guthrie, 336.
39 Frederick W. Danker, II Corinthians (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 1989), 81.
40 Para explorar con más detalle este concepto del bautismo en Cristo, véase Frank
Stagg, Teología del Nuevo Testamento (El Paso, TX: Casa Bautista de Publicaciones,
1976), 221-225.
41 Robert H. Mounce, Romans (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1995), 174.
42 Guthrie, 647, 648.
Alcántara – El concepto Paulino “en Cristo” 211
En resumen
1) El creyente recibe la adopción como hijo de Dios a través del Hijo enviado
(Gál. 4:4). Ser hijo de Dios trae como resultado las bendiciones prometidas a
Abraham cuando se le dijo: “En ti serán benditas todas las naciones” (3:8);
“para que en Cristo Jesús la bendición de Abraham alcanzase a los gentiles, a
fin de que por la fe recibiésemos la promesa del Espíritu” (3:14).
2) Se reciben dos bendiciones al ser hijos de Dios: la primera bendición es la
promesa del Espíritu, que “Dios envió a vuestros corazones el Espíritu de su
Hijo” (4:6), y la segunda, la herencia de Dios según la promesa por medio de
Cristo (3:29; 4:7).
“En Cristo” se recibe el Espíritu. Esta nueva existencia “en Cristo/en el
Espíritu” conlleva un impacto en la vida del cristiano: se es nueva criatura (2
Cor. 5:17), se camina en novedad de vida (Rom. 6:4) y se anda conforme al
Espíritu (Rom. 8:1). Esto implica dos cosas: 1) un nuevo escenario desde el
51 Ladd, 646.
52 Kümmel, 217.
53 Ladd, 641.
Alcántara – El concepto Paulino “en Cristo” 213
Conclusión
La expresión Paulina “en Cristo” tiene gran variedad de significados y
sentidos, dependiendo del contexto. Pero la llave más relevante para
interpretar esta expresión en el marco contextual de la teología Paulina y del
Nuevo Testamento, es la teología de lo que tipifican Adán y Cristo como
hombres representativos y colectivos. Lo que le ocurrió a Adán afectó a toda
la humanidad. Adán representa a la humanidad en rebelión contra Dios. Por
lo tanto, estar en Adán es estar en rebelión con Dios, en una situación
dominada por el pecado y la muerte. Estar en Adán es vivir en la carne y vivir
en la carne es vivir sin Cristo.
Por otro lado, lo que sucedió a Cristo tiene consecuencias sobre quienes lo
aceptan por la fe como una realidad viviente. Cristo trajo justificación, paz,
perdón, nueva creación, reconciliación, santificación, y rompió la barrera que
separaba a judíos y gentiles. Cristo trajo redención. Lo que el primer Adán
no llegó a ser, el postrer Adán (Cristo) lo logró. Cristo constituye el centro
del plan de salvación. La provisión divina para la redención de la raza humana
se ha realizado en la obra de Cristo. “En Cristo” una nueva era ha comenzado
y ha inundado la antigua. Cristo es el creador de una nueva humanidad. Cristo
ha logrado en su muerte y resurrección un nuevo escenario de condiciones
en la salvación. En Adán radica el dominio del pecado y de la muerte, pero
“en Cristo” está el dominio de la libertad en el Espíritu y de la vida.
Los creyentes que aceptan por la fe los méritos salvíficos de Cristo se unen a
él para que las consecuencias de lo que Cristo realizó se hagan efectivas en
sus vidas. Estar “en Cristo” es tener comunión con Cristo de manera
consciente. La comunión con Cristo se logra a través del Espíritu Santo. Estar
“en Cristo” es vivir en el Espíritu, bajo el régimen del Espíritu. Los
pensamientos, las motivaciones, los deseos, las acciones son controladas por
el Espíritu de Cristo que mora en el creyente, de manera que como Pablo
dice: “Cristo vive en mí”.
Estar “en Cristo” es también tener una relación íntima y permanente con él,
que tiene su inicio y es puesta en marcha cuando el creyente pone su
confianza “en” Jesús, muere al pecado y resucita “en Cristo” como una nueva
creación. La nueva creación no es posible sin la crucifixión personal al
214 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
mundo, y del mundo para el cristiano (Gál. 6:14-15). El creyente entra en una
relación de participación en y con Cristo. De otro modo no puede ser
beneficiario de la nueva era inaugurada por Cristo.
“En Cristo” es una declaración de fe que expresa la obra objetiva e histórica
de Cristo y sus logros para la humanidad. “En Cristo” también expresa la
obra subjetiva de Cristo en el creyente y en su iglesia a través del Espíritu. El
resultado inmediato de experimentar el estar “en Cristo” es la nueva creación
lo cual conlleva principios y exigencias éticas en la vida de los creyentes, esto
es, andar en el Espíritu o en novedad de vida.
CARLOS G. MOLINA1
Abstract
The end of John´s captivity is described in Revelation 1:9 within the Greek sentence
–έγεωόμηω έν τῇ νήςῳ τῇ καλουμένῃ Πάτμῳ– “I was in the island called Patmos.”
This previous declaration and its time frame were related to the emperors Domitian
and Nerva. This article justifies that after Domitian´s death, Nerva liberated many
exiled and banished captives, including John, from their prison-islands dispersed in
the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. This work includes brief facts of Domitian´s
assassination and his previous encounter with John according a third century
accounts. A life sketch of Nerva is also provided followed by the linguistic study of
various Hebrew Greek and Latin words related to exile. These terms can help to
grasp the penal situation of the apostle John in that volcanic origin island named
Patmos.
Resumen
El final del cautiverio de Juan se describe en Apocalipsis 1:9 dentro de la oración
griega –έγεωόμηω έν τῇ νήςῳ τῇ καλουμένῃ Πάτμῳ– “Estuve en la isla llamada
Patmos”. Esta declaración anterior y su marco de tiempo estaban relacionados con
los emperadores Domiciano y Nerva. Este artículo justifica que después de la muerte
de Domiciano, Nerva liberó a muchos cautivos exiliados y desterrados, incluido Juan,
de sus islas carcelarias dispersas en los mares Egeo y Mediterráneo. Este trabajo
1 The author, of Costarican origin, is an ordained SDA minister that teaches at Universidad
de Montemorelos, Nuevo León, México, after pastoring in the Wisconsin Conference, and
serving at Northern Brasil Adventist Seminary, Bahía, Brasil. He earns a PhD in New
Testament Studies from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and a DMin in Pastoral
Ministry from Andrews University. E-mail: carlos.molina@um.edu.mx
216 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Résumé
La fin de la captivité de Jean est décrite dans Apocalypse 1: 9, dans la phrase grecque
–έγεωόμηω έν τῇ νήςῳ τῇ καλουμένῃ Πάτμῳ– et Nerva. Cet article justifie qu’après
la mort de Domitien, Nerva a libéré de nombreux prisonniers exilés et bannis, dont
John, de leurs prisons dispersées dans la mer Egée et la Méditerranée. Ce travail
comprend de brefs faits sur l’assassinat de Domitian et sa précédente rencontre avec
John selon un récit du troisième siècle. Une esquisse de vie de Nerva est également
fournie, suivie par l’étude linguistique de divers mots hébraïques grecs et latins liés à
l’exil. Ces termes peuvent aider à comprendre la situation pénale de l’apôtre Jean dans
cette île d’origine volcanique appelée Patmos.
Domitian´s Successor
Marcus Coeccius Nerva Caesar Augustus was born in 30 CE at Narnia, a
village located 50 miles North of Rome. He became secretary of Nero,
Vespasian and Domitian. His reign began when he was 65 years old and only
lasted for 16 months, from 96 to 98 CE.2 He ascended to the throne of the
Roman Empire as the fourteenth emperor since Julius Caesar. Nerva began
to reign right after the murder of his predecessor Domitian by the Praetorian
Guard on September 18, 96 CE. Domitian was responsible for the creation
of the Hypogeum –the underground complex beneath the Colosseum´s area.3
Shortly after Domitian’s death, the Senate declared upon Domitian damnatio
memoreae –damnation to Domitian memory.4 This Senate´s enunciate was also
described by Suetonius (69-140 CE) as a “decree to abolish incidental
memory of Domitian.”5 Statues and monuments remembering this emperor
2 Barbara Levick, Vespasian (London, England: Routledge, 1999), 83, 88, 98, 101, 126, 130,
166, 197, 201.
3 “Hypogeum”, in Mauro Poma. Discovering the Colosseum: Between Myth and Reality (Rome, Italy:
Narcissus, 2015).
4 Harriet Flower, The Art of Forgetting: Disgrace and Oblivion in Roman Political Culture, Studies in
the History of Greece and Rome (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina, 2006),
66-67, 81-88, 152, 156, 199, 224, 231-243.
5 Suetonius, The Life of the Twelve Caesars, Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 1998), 23.
Molina – Nerva and Revelation 1:9… 217
were altered, or destroyed and his name was erased from many public places.
This fate on Domitian was due to the fact he called himself master et deus –
lord and god– meanwhile he was alive.6 The apotheosis or emperor’s
deification in Rome was only allowed once an emperor was dead but not
during his lifetime.7 However, the living worship attitude toward roman
rulers was originated and promoted firstly in the provinces, mainly in Asia
Minor.8 Afterward, during the late Western Roman Empire, this living
worship to Caesars found a place in the “eternal city.”9
The ascendance of Nerva to the Imperial throne, marked the end of the
Flavian dynasty10 for a new rulership family: the Nerva-Antonnine. These
new rulers governed the empire from 96-192 CE. This new dynasty
comprised the so-discussed phrase “five good emperors.”11
On the contrary to other emperors of the first century CE, Nerva’s reign is
not well documented. On what religion is concern, it can be implied he
searched the favor of the gods according the influx of current roman
polytheism. The religion in roman society in the first century CE was mostly
motivated by material favors interest. The word “faith” as is conceived by
early Christians had not equivalent within roman religion context.12
As a ruler, Nerva was viewed in some cases, as a modest and wise Caesar.
Notwithstanding his reign was brief, he accomplished some achievements.
Among them, there are a few examples: Roman mail service was turned into
a public right for all roman citizens. Before this turnout roman mail was
6 Cassius Dio, Roman History, Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press, 1925), chapter “Domitian”.
7 Eugenie Arthur Strong, Apotheosis and After Life: Three Lectures on Certain Phases of Art and
Religion in the Roman Empire (London, England: Constable, 1915), recovered from https:
//archive.org/stream/apotheosisafterl00strouoft/apotheosisafterl00strouoft_djvu.txt
8 S. R. F. Price, Ritual and Power: The Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor (Cambridge, England:
New Testament period. The remaining list is composed by Hadrian, Antonninus Pius,
Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus and Commodus. The first five emperors of this list are called
“the good five emperors”, because their respective reigns helped to keep the preservation
of the Roman Empire. That phrase has been debated by modern historians.
12 Roman Reeves, Roman Pagan Life and Worship, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary,
strictly reserved for the military and the privileged classes.13 His allotment to
the poor classes is documented by Cassius Dio.14 Nerva is also remembered
by the abolishment of the informants promoted earlier by Domitian.15 At the
same time he began the repairing of major highways or “vias” and the
building of aqueducts for Rome. The new emperor also commanded not to
kill senators during his reign. In order to avoid a devastating turmoil and
rebellion from the Praetorian Guard, he named Trajan as his successor,16 a
beloved general by the roman legions in the frontier with Germania.
On what the book of Revelation is concern, the emperors Domitian and
Nerva are part of Chapter 1:9. The first one ordered John’s banishment to
Patmos island. Later Christian writers from the third century referred about
Nerva as liberating many exiled captives, including John. That is why the
apostle penned that he “was” –έγενόμεν, egenómen–17 in such island. He was
sent there “because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (1:9). In
that same Bible verse there is some other vocables that lingüistically could
indicate John’s confinement and captivity on that rocky island of the Aegean
Sea. This phrase is: “partner in the tribulation.” The word “tribulation”
comes from θλίψις, thlipsis that also is associated with “hemmed in,” “no
options,” “confined” or “restricted.” These previous translations for thlipsis
can also suggest a captivity isolation place confirmed by the word νἐσος, nesos
or island.18
The exile of John could have directly been related to “atheism.” This word
was used for religions or creeds that were against the roman state, that is, his
emperor and their gods. By then, Romans considered Christianity as doing
such and being a novel superstitio movement.19 The book of Revelation
indicates that only the Godhead must be adored and worshipped (14:6;
19:10). In John’s time, Domitian considered himself as a κύριος, Lord. The
informed Domitian of any activity against his life and kingdom. Obviously, this type of
work sometimes was utilized for personal revenge, slander and betraying innocent people.
16 John O. Grainger, Nerva and Roman Succession Crisis 96-99 CE (London, England: Routledge,
2004), xxvi, 98-110. Nerva did not have any blood heir to the throne, that’s why he cleverly
chooses Trajan as his successor in order to avoid any turmoil and rebellion from the
Praetorians.
17 As it is known, the aorist tense emphasis the action of the verb, which here is first singular,
middle voice.
18 The term nesos, island, is also based to naus or neus, ship, vessel. See Thayer’s Greek-English
Lexicon of the New Testament (Cambridge, MA: Harper & Brothers, 1889, reprint 1995).
19 Bernard Green, Christianity in Ancient Rome: The first three centuries (New York, NY:
original audience composed by the early Christians during the last decade of
the first century CE viewed two κυριοι, kurioi, lords in conflict: One is the
heavenly and authentic kurios, Christ Jesus. The other one is Caesar. The first
one is worthy of honor and glory, the second enforced being kurios by the
fact of being Caesar.20
Some authors point it was Nero who persecuted John and also question if
John was really in Patmos or not.21 One of their arguments is that only
wealthy roman citizens that fell in disgrace with the emperor were subject to
choose between capital punishment or banishment to save their life. These
writers claim that John’s citizen status was not the same as Paul’s. Nothing it
is said in the NT or in the early Christian Literature if John obtained the
roman citizenship or not. His presence in Rome is only supported by the
tradition of his miraculous deliverance from the boiling cauldron order by
Domitian at the Porta Latina.22 This previous miraculous deliverance narrative
it was first penned by Tertullian in the third century CE.23 If such tradition is
taking into account, it could flip the argument otherwise.
Domitian, as almost ancient romans, was a very superstitious person,
depending on the ominous flight of ravens, omens and natural signs.24
Domitian didn’t want to mess with the supernatural force that preserved
John’s life by not being burnt into the boiling crate bath, therefore the
emperor banished him to one of the various penal islands of the Aegean
Sea.25 That’s how the Nerva imperial order in releasing many exiled persons
could also be applied for the extrication of John the evangelist, the only
survivor of the twelve apostles.26
20 Carl F. Henry, God, Revelation and Authority: The God Who Stands and Stays, Vol. 5 (Wheaton,
IL: Crossway, 1999). See also “κὐριος”, in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed.
Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1976), 3:1062-1082.
21 Elizabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, The Book of Revelation: Justice and Judgment, 2nd edition
Nelson, 1997).
220 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
27 James M. Scott, ed., Exile: Old Testament, Jewish and Christian Conceptions (Leiden, Netherlands:
Brill, 1997), 145.
28 Ibid.
29 Plato, Aeschylus, Ag 1412.
30 Edward Hannenberg, Bible Maker: Jerome: The Fascinating Story of the Author of the Latin Vulgate
(Bloomington, England: Author House, 2005).
31 “History of Rome / Ovid and the Censored Voice LT 251,” in www.colby.edu. Powered
by Headway, the drag and drop Word Theme Press [Internet article] [found on April 22,
2016].
Molina – Nerva and Revelation 1:9… 221
sometimes was also for life. The sentence to this type of expel was not sent
the prisoner to a designated location or do not lose any of their civil rights.32
Since John was not a Roman citizen on what it is known till now, relegatio
could be a punishment status by which he was sent to Patmos.
The second noun for banishment was known as Aquae et ignis interdictio. This
type of oust was utilized in the Roman Republic. Literally meaning ‘debarred
from fire and water” and, it was similar to the relegatio in the sense that the
exiled had no permanent place of residency.33
Kelly says:
However, aquae et ignis interdictio differed in terms of duration and rights. The
victim lost the civil rights that came with Roman citizenship and their
property was confiscated. The designation aquae et ignis interdictio
occasionally was applied to unique cases of voluntary exile, or self-
banishment. Despite voluntary departure, the person was stripped of rights
and property.34
The last type of banishment punishment was known as “deportatio.” It is
described as the most extreme. The condemned person was normally
sentenced to live in a specific place, away from Rome, mainly an island of the
Mediterranean of Aegean Seas.35 Due to the fact this punishment was also
applied to Non Roman citizens, John the apostle could also have faced this
kind of severe banishment.36
32 Richard A. Bauman, Crime and Punishment in Ancient Rome (London, England: Routledge,
2012), 6.
33 Gordon P. Kelly, A History of Exile in The Roman Republic (Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University Press, 2006), 25, cited in Colby College Community Web, Course LT251, Ovid
and the Censored Voice - History of Roman Exile. Retrieved from http://web.colby
.edu/ovid-censorship/exile/history-of-roman-exile/
34 Ibid.
35 “Deportatio”, cited in ibid.
36 Ibid.
222 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
37 Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings (Boise, ID: Pacific Press, 2010), 392-393.
ALEXSANDAR S. SANTRAC 1
Abstract
Revelation’s messages to the Seven Churches are addressed to real local church
communities and the circumstances that they faced in AD first Century Asia Minor.
However, if those messages are interpreted in a historicist framework, it have another
layer of meaning: they foreshadow seven sequential historical epochs of Church
history. The number seven is symbolic for totality and suggests that are being used
to symbolize the Christian Church in its totality. Interestingly, the messages to the
Seven Churches are characterized by numerous references and allusions to the
history chronicled in the Old Testament. The fact that they are present is evidence
that stages of Old Testament history also are depicted as being recapitulated in the
history of the universal church or, the sequence of messages also corresponds to a
sequence of previous periods, Old Testament history, with several potent
implications.
1 Alexandar S. Santrac, DPhil, PhD, Professor of Ethics, Philosophy, Religion, and Chair of
Religion and Philosophy Department at Washington Adventist University. Previously, Dr.
Santrac, of Serbian origin, taught at the University of Southern Caribbean in Trinidad &
Tobago, and also is Visiting Professor for the IATS. E-mail: alex.santrac@gmail.com
224 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Resumen
Los mensajes de las siete iglesias de Apocalipsis fueron dirigidos a las comunidades
eclesiales locales reales y las circunstancias que enfrentaron en el Asia Menor del
primer siglo, pero interpretadas en un marco historicista, tienen otro nivel de
significado: presagian siete épocas históricas secuenciales de la historia de la Iglesia.
El número siete es un símbolo de totalidad y sugiere que se está utilizando para
simbolizar a la Iglesia cristiana en su totalidad. Curiosamente, los mensajes a las siete
iglesias se caracterizan por numerosas referencias y alusiones a la historia narrada en
el Antiguo Testamento. El hecho de que aparezcan aquí es evidencia de que las etapas
de la historia del Antiguo Testamento también se representan como recapituladas en
la historia de la iglesia universal o, la secuencia de mensajes también corresponde a
una secuencia de períodos de la historia del Antiguo Testamento, con varias
poderosas implicaciones.
Résumé
Les sept églises de l’Apocalypse traitent des communautés religieuses locales réelles
et des circonstances auxquelles elles ont été confrontées au premier siècle en Asie
Mineure, mais interprétées dans un cadre historiciste, elles revêtent une autre
signification: elles préfigurent sept époques historiques séquentielles de l’histoire de
l’Église. Le nombre sept est symbolique de la totalité et suggère qu’il est utilisé pour
symboliser l’Église chrétienne dans sa totalité. Fait intéressant, les messages aux sept
églises sont caractérisés par de nombreuses références et allusions à l’histoire relatée
dans l’Ancien Testament. Le fait qu’elles apparaissent ici prouve que les étapes de
l’histoire de l’Ancien Testament sont également décrites comme étant récapitulées
dans l’histoire de l’église universelle ou que la séquence de messages correspond
également à une séquence de périodes du passé, à l’histoire de l’Ancien Testament,
avec plusieurs implications puissantes.
Introduction
6 Hubert J. Richards, What the Spirit Says to the Churches: A Key to the Apocalypse of John (New
York, NY: P. J. Kennedy & Sons, 1967), 37.
7 Daniel J. Harrington, Revelation: The Book of the Risen Christ (New York, NY: New City Press,
1999), 37-38.
8 Scripture quotations are taken from the New International Version (NIV).
9 G.R. Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation (London, England: Oliphants, 1974), 72.
10 The seven epochs of church history to which the seven churches correspond in Adventist
thought, with approximate dates are: Ephesus—the apostolic age of the church, especially
towards its end, A.D. 31-100; Smyrna—the age of Roman persecution, A.D. 100-313;
Pergamum—the church of compromise/Constantinian revolution, A.D. 313-538;
Thyatira—the church of widespread medieval apostasy and the rise of the Protestant
Reformation, A.D. 538-1650; Sardis, the age of Post-Reformation formalistic orthodoxy,
A.D. 1650-1800; Philadelphia, the church of spiritual revival and missionary
expansion,1800-1900, Laodicea, the church of modern lukewarmness, 1900--the end.
Santrac – Another Look at the Seven Churches… 227
11 Jacques Doukhan, Secrets of Revelation: The Apocalypse through Hebrew Eyes (Hagerstown, MD:
Review and Herald, 2002), 26.
12 Willfrid Harrington, Revelation: Proclamation of a Vision of Hope (San Jose, CA: San Jose Press,
1994), 20.
13 J. Massyngberde Ford, Revelation: Introduction, Translation and Commentary (New York, NY:
Doubleday, 1975), 22-26.
14 William M. Ramsay, The Letters to the Seven Churches (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker House, 1985),
71.
15 Adventists might not believe in this theory, and these references are included to get across
the idea of how prominent the Jewish/OT influence is in Revelation.
228 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
another.”16 This interpretive interplay between the Old Testament and the
first-century context of the seven churches of Revelation has several key
facets. First, it would seem that Revelation invokes the Old Testament
language as a polemic against the paganism of the first century. Second, the
use of Old Testament language would shed the light of the existing Scriptures
into the first-century readers’ situations, making specific applications of Old
Testament truths so as to enable the readers to know better how to respond
to their circumstances. Third, it would likely trigger for the readers a series of
other associations with similar Old Testament allusions, allowing for greater
depth and complexity of meaning to be woven into the text.
However, the question might be raised: why is a particular Old Testament
allusion chosen for a particular portion of Revelation? More specifically for
the purposes of this paper, why do the allusions to the Old Testament in the
letters to the seven churches appear where they do? These questions are best
answered by first addressing the question of the overall purpose of utilizing
Old Testament language. J. P. M Sweet makes the case that the author of
Revelation is elaborating on Old Testament prophecies and motifs with the
purpose of proving the fact that “the end will be as the beginning.”
References are made to then-current affairs as well as to the future through
the symbolism of the Old Testament.17
Jon Paulien expresses the point more succinctly, “Scripture draws on the language
of the past to speak about the future.”18 This understanding of the significance of
these allusions is the key tenet underlying this article. Just as in other portions
of the book of Revelation, the use of Old Testament allusions in the letters
to the seven churches is intended to symbolize events in the future beyond
their contemporary first century setting (though, of course, not without
having meaning for that contemporary setting).
Thus, the interpretation that the letters to the seven churches are a prediction
of the history of the church is not based only on the evidence of the unusual
vernacular John uses that transcends the local historical situation of Asia
Minor. It is based more specifically, rather, on its utilization of Old Testament allusions.
To be even more precise, this article will argue that this interpretation is
verified by the fact that the messages to the seven churches are based on the
structure of the sequence of historical eras already present in the Old
Testament. The language of those past events speaks about the future—the
16 G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans, 1999), 224.
17 J. P. M. Sweet, Revelation (Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press, 1979), 2.
18 Jon Paulien, The Deep Things of God: An Insider's Guide to the Book of Revelation (Hagerstown,
MD: Review and Herald, 2004), 52.
Santrac – Another Look at the Seven Churches… 229
history of Christ’s Church. The eras in Church history revealed in the local
messages to the seven churches appear to correspond to the experience of
God’s people in the Old Testament.
Examining how to interpret and understand the ways in which individual
predictive aspects of the local churches’ messages were fulfilled in the history
of the Christian Church is beyond the scope of this article. Rather, this article
will seek to provide evidence for a historicist sequence of Church history
periods in the seven churches by confirming the existence of a historical
sequence of Old Testament allusions in the seven churches. For each of the
messages of the seven churches, attention will be drawn to key parts and
concepts of each message that constitute allusions to Old Testament texts
and history (these will be underlined in the text of the passage). Then an
explication will be offered of how these elements connect to and establish a
correlation between a particular epoch of Old Testament history and that
specific church. Finally, comments will be made on how the period of Old
Testament history that corresponds with each church also corresponds with
or is similar to a period of Church history, the same periods that Adventist
interpreters have argued the messages to the seven churches predict.
the passage raises the issue of testing and proving false in Revelation 2:2.
Second, the passage speaks of the church as “fallen” in verse 5, in connection
to the idea of a loss of first love. Third, the passage mentions the tree of life
and the “paradise of God” in verse 7. These elements all point to the
narratives of Genesis chapters 2 and 3, which describe the life of the first
man and woman in the Garden of Eden (the Paradise of God) and the Fall
of humanity into sin. The mention of the tree of life in the message to the
church at Ephesus is the most concrete indication that this message is
referencing the account of Adam and Eve. Genesis 2 indicates that the tree
of life was planted by God in the Garden of Eden (v.8-9) while chapter 3
recounts how the first humans were evicted from Eden, which notably meant
being barred from the tree of life and becoming subject to death (v. 17-19,
22-24). Of course, Revelation 2’s reference to the tree of life, in contrast to
the loss of access to the tree of life and to Eden described in Genesis 3, is a
promise of Christ to the overcomer that he will gain right of access to the tree
of life and to Paradise. Still, the allusion to this account through the mention
of the tree of life in the message to the church in Ephesus suggests that this
message is connected to and meant to be seen through the Genesis account.
Thus the other themes in the message that appear reminiscent of the account
of the Fall—the issue of testing and the falling away from the first love—
can, in fact, be rightfully correlated to that story.
While Genesis 2:15-17, which detail God’s instructions to Adam regarding
not eating the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, do not explicitly state
that God was testing Adam, the issue of testing is nonetheless heavily
implied. Unfortunately, much like the self-proclaimed apostles in the church
in Ephesus, Adam and Eve proved false when subjected to a test of their
loyalty and obedience to God. Thus, there is a discernible correspondence
between the testing mentioned in Revelation 2:2 and the events of Genesis 2
and 3. Likewise, the mention of the church in Ephesus as fallen and as having
lost its first love corresponds to Genesis 3’s recounting of how the human
race “fell” from its noble position because of the first sin, which resulted in
damage to the relationship between God and humanity, as shown by Adam
and Eve hiding in fear from God (3:8-10). Clearly, this message draws on the
language of the first epoch of Old Testament history, the paradisiacal age of
Adam and Eve until the Fall, to describe the experience of the first-century
church in Ephesus.
The fact that John views the church in Ephesus as paralleling the experience
of the first couple in Paradise, however, is also evidence that the stages of
Old Testament history are depicted as being recapitulated in the history of
Santrac – Another Look at the Seven Churches… 231
19 This seems like one of the harder sections. More needs to be done to substantiate the theory
here. Of particular importance is being able to use the OT itself to back up this view and
not just how it is interpreted in the NT. That being said, several valuable connections might
be made. Perhaps a connection between the slavery and difficulties that Genesis indicates
would afflict Abraham and his descendants? Also, being put in prison seems to evoke the
story of Joseph.
232 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the
Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed
sexual immorality. 15Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching
of the Nicolaitans. 16Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you
and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 17Whoever has
ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is
victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person
a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who
receives it.”
In the message to the church in Pergamum, several elements allude to a third
major period of Old Testament History. First, there is mention of the sword
that proceeds from the mouth of Jesus in 2:12 and 2:16. Second, the text
mentions Satan’s throne and dwelling in verse 13. Third, the text describes
the work/teaching of Balaam and Balak in verse 14. Finally, the text speaks
of “hidden manna.” Each of these elements appears to refer to the account of the Exodus
of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery and their subsequent wilderness sojourn towards
Canaan. Certainly the most obvious and detailed reference is the allusion to
the narrative of the prophet Balaam and King Balak of Moab as recorded in
Numbers chapters 22-25 and Numbers 31 (especially verses 8 and 16, cf.
Joshua 13:22). In this narrative, the Moabite king attempts to use Balaam’s
prophetic gift to invoke curses against Israel. But when God thwarts this
strategy by preventing Balaam from pronouncing anything but blessings on
Israel, Balaam advises the Moabites to cooperate with the Midianites in using
their women to seduce the Israelites into fornication and into partaking of
the sacrifices offered to their gods so that when the Israelites sin and turn
away from God, He will judge and abandon them. In the context of
Revelation 2, this “teaching of Balaam” is treated as tantamount to the
doctrine and practice of the group known as the Nicolaitans in the first-
century who apparently also encouraged believers to compromise their
fidelity to Christ by engaging in sexual immorality and eating food offered to
idols. In similar fashion, the message’s reference to the eschatological reward
of “hidden manna” invokes the narrative of God’s provision of the manna
to feed Israel in Exodus 16 and especially alludes to verses 32-34, in which a
jar of manna is preserved and stored with the Testimony (Ten
Santrac – Another Look at the Seven Churches… 233
who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into
sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21I have given
her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22So I will cast
her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with
her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23I will strike her
children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches
hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
24Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her
teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not
impose any other burden on you, 25except to hold on to what you have22 until I
come.’ 26To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will
give authority over the nations—27that one ‘will rule them with an iron
scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received
authority from my Father. 28I will also give that one the morning star.
29Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Several elements in the message to the church in Thyatira suggest that the
passage alludes to a fourth major epoch of Old Testament history. First, in
Revelation 2:20-23, the passage references Jezebel, and thereby alludes to her
career in the narrative of her primary antagonist, the prophet Elijah. Second,
the calls to hold fast until Jesus comes (verse 25) and the reference to the
morning star (verse 28) are reminiscent of the proclamations of early (pre-
exilic), Messiah-expectant prophets. Third, the message directly quotes in
verse 27 from the messianic Psalm 2, which has the Davidic monarchy as its
background. Each of these factors points back to the early kings and prophets
in pre-exilic Israel. The most prominent of these allusions is the mention of
Jezebel. As recorded in 1 Kings, Jezebel was the pagan queen of the wicked
King Ahab who persecuted the true prophets of God (including the prophet
Elijah) and promoted and supported the false prophets of Baal and Asherah.
The narrative in 1 Kings suggests that Jezebel led, first Ahab, and then
through him, the people of Israel, into apostasy as she sought to displace
worship of Yahweh and establish worship of Baal as the dominant religion
in Israel.23 It would appear that the message to the church of Thyatira invokes
the story of Jezebel, particularly her role in enticing Israel into idolatry and
her association with false prophets, to describe symbolically the work of an
influential heretical leader in this first-century church who claimed the
prophetic gift and encouraged her followers to engage in idolatrous practices
and immorality. The reference in the message to the church in Thyatira to
committing adultery is probably also part of the allusion to Jezebel, as in 2nd
Kings, Jezebel is explicitly linked with “whorings,”24 although in both
22 This italicized portion might refer to remnant theology in parallel to the 7,000 faithful
Israelites in Elijah’s day.
23 1 Kings 16:31-33; 18:4, 13, 19; 19:1-2, 21:25-26.
24 2 Kings 9:22, English Standard Version.
Santrac – Another Look at the Seven Churches… 235
period of the powerful ruling powers of the medieval ages and the
Reformation that arose in response to it.
but rather with reference to the Old Covenant era that came to its
culmination in the coming of Jesus the Christ and the inauguration of the
messianic/New Covenant age. These motifs, namely, are: the emphasis on
the messianic and divine identity of Jesus as detailed in verse 14; the spiritual
lukewarmness, poverty, blindness and nakedness of God’s people; the
emphasis on the personal counsel and ministry of Jesus to God’s people; the
immanent presence of Jesus seeking those who will receive Him; and the
emphasis on the exemplary victory and exaltation of Jesus. Each of these
motifs evokes the events and significance of the first coming of Jesus.
It is notable that, unlike the other six messages to churches in Revelation 2-
3, the message to Laodicea does not refer back to the visionary appearance
of Jesus in Revelation 1 to describe Him, but introduces new titles and
descriptions of His role that focus attention on His messianic and divine
identity. These new and unprecedented descriptions of Jesus’ identity (in the
context of Revelation 1-3) may be indicative of the newness of the revelation
of God in and through Jesus during His earthly ministry. Describing Jesus as
“the Amen” (“truth/truly,” “surely,” “let it be,” “so it is”) should probably
be understood as an allusion both to Isaiah 65:16, which refers to “the God
of truth” (literally, “the God of Amen”) and to 2 Corinthians 1:20, which
emphasizes that believers can declare, “Amen,” through Jesus, since all of the
promises of God are affirmed and fulfilled in Him. It may also allude to Jesus’
practice, especially as recorded in the Gospel of John, of prefacing His
teachings by saying “Truly, truly (literally, amen, amen) I say to you.”28 Thus,
this title for Jesus would seem to emphasize His divine identity, His role as
the fulfiller of God’s promises of salvation to His people, and the
trustworthiness and truth of His words. This latter quality is similarly
expressed in the title of “the faithful and true witness,”29 which likely also
refers to how Jesus is the true representative of the Father who provides
faithful testimony about Him to the world. Finally, the message to the church
of Laodicea labels Jesus as “the ruler of God’s creation.” While the Greek
term translated by the New International Version as “ruler” can also signify
“source” or “origin” and indicates Jesus’ identity as the divine Creator, it also
emphasizes the authority of Jesus over the created order, as repeatedly
demonstrated through the miracles of Jesus in the Gospels.
Just as the titles and descriptors for Jesus in the message to the church of
Laodicea reference His earthly ministry, so the description of the spiritually
lukewarm condition of the church of Laodicea corresponds to the condition
of the Jewish people during the ministry of Jesus. Most of the Jews did not
recognize Jesus at His first coming or their spiritual need for Him; like the
lukewarmness of the Laodicean Christians, their indifference to Jesus grieved
Him and invoked His warnings of judgment to come (Matthew 11:20-24,
23:37-39; Luke 19:41-44, John 6:66-67; 12:35-43). Jesus’ offer to counsel and
aid the church of Laodicea personally so that their deficiencies may be
remedied is reminiscent of Jesus’ invitations to the Jewish people during His
earthly ministry and His claims to be able to give them rest (Matt. 11:28-30),
life (Jn. 4:13-14, 6:35-40, 6:47-51), truth, freedom (Jn. 8:31-32), restoration
(Lk. 4:18-19) and access to God (Jn. 12:44-45).
Likewise, Jesus’ statement in Rev. 3:30, “Here I am,” emphasizing His
immediate presence and offer of intimate association with the receptive
believer corresponds to Jesus’ declarations that Scripture was being fulfilled
by His coming (Lk. 4:20-21, Mark 1:14-15). The fact this text appears
reminiscent of the story of the Bride and Bridegroom in Song of Songs 5:2-
6 may add additional corroboration to the connection of this message to the
earthly ministry of Jesus, as Jesus is repeatedly depicted as a Bridegroom in
the Gospels (e.g. Matt. 9:15, 22:1, 25:1; Jn. 3:29). Lastly, Jesus’ declaration
that He was victorious and sat on His Father’s throne is clearly a reference to
the ministry of Jesus in its entirety, but with special emphasis on His death,
resurrection, and ascension to the right hand of God. Put together, these
various allusions and references indicate that the message to the church of
Laodicea is drawing upon the language of the past, addressing the late first-
century circumstances of its audience by invoking the events of the seventh
and final epoch of Old Testament history—the lukewarm Jewish nation at
the time of Jesus Christ’s first coming. This also serves as evidence that the
experience of the church of Laodicea foreshadows a corresponding seventh
and final era of church history—the modern, end-time, lukewarm church.
This correspondence also indicates that, just as He did in that first century
Jewish context with His disciples, Jesus will yet again create the remnant who
will be faithful to His word and testimonies.
First, it affirms the basic principle that prophecy in Scripture is based on the
language of the past. Second, recognition of this principle enables interpreters
to gain deeper understanding of the local situation addressed in a biblical
prophecy by careful analysis of how the language of the past is utilized in the
prophecy. Third, recognition that this basic principle is operative in prophetic
forthtelling about present circumstances provides justification for believing that
it is also operative in prophetic foretelling—predictions of future events.
Fourth, in the specific case of Revelation 2-3’s seven messages, in addition to
traditional evidences for a historicist sequence, the language of the seven
epochs of Old Testament history (predictive elements, quotes, symbols,
echoes, allusions) borrowed by the seven messages makes plausible the
conclusion that the messages do not only provide the description of the local
churches in Asia Minor but also point to the future, seven different eras of
Church history following the sequence of epochs in the Old Testament. This
means, fifth, that believers can likewise gain deeper understanding of the
development of church history by their analysis of how the language of the
past is used in the messages to the seven churches.
Of course, it is important in this analysis not to lose sight of the truth that
“the appeal of Jesus Christ is not to the church at large; it is to the heart of
every individual”;30 the seven messages contain the personal message of Jesus
to individual believers. The messages, especially in their invocation of Old
Testament history, express both a negative and a positive reality. The negative
reality is that “there never has been a perfect Christian community.”31
Throughout the Old Testament, New Testament, and beyond, the people of
God have faced various difficulties and manifested various deficiencies.
However, the positive reality is that just as He was present throughout Old
Testament history, Jesus, the great “I AM,” is always present to bring
consolation and guidance to the church community. Jesus will always be
present to encourage and console His people and to rebuke, discipline,
reprove, correct and most importantly love them when needed.
30 William Barclay, Letters to the Seven Churches (London, England: SCM Press, 1957), 120.
31 Wilfrid J. Harrington, Revelation (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1993), 56.
נסה
Resumen
Tomando como punto de partida el relato de la Aqedah, el presente estudio se
propone analizar las posibles razones detrás del motivo de la prueba divina en el AT.
Para ello se sugiere analizar el uso del vocablo נסהen el AT, y luego ofrecer una
lectura a partir del marco hermenéutico del Conflicto Cósmico. A partir de esto se
observa que el propósito de la prueba es mostrar lo que se encuentra en el interior
del hombre, las verdaderas motivaciones que lo mueven a la obediencia. Aquello que
Dios conoce, pero escapa a las percepciones de las demás criaturas, se hace
claramente visible por medio de la prueba.
Abstract
Taking as a starting point the story of the Aqedah, the present study intends to analyze
the possible reasons behind the reason for the divine test in the OT. For this, it is
suggested to analyze the use of the word נסהin the OT, and then offer a reading
from the hermeneutic framework of the Cosmic Conflict. From this it is observed
that the purpose of the test is to show what is inside the man, the true motivations
that move him to obedience. That which God knows, but escapes the perceptions
of other creatures, becomes clearly visible through the test.
Résumé
Prenant comme point de départ l’histoire de l’Aqedah, la présente étude a pour but
d’analyser les raisons possibles de la raison du test divin dans l’AT. Pour cela, il est
suggéré d’analyser l’utilisation du mot נסהdans l’AT, puis de proposer une lecture
du cadre herméneutique du conflit cosmique. À partir de cela, on constate que le
but du test est de montrer ce qui est à l’intérieur de l’homme, les véritables
motivations qui le poussent à l’obéissance. Ce que Dieu sait, mais échappe aux
perceptions des autres créatures, devient clairement visible à travers le test.
Introducción
Abrahán probado
“Y aconteció después de estas cosas que Dios probó [ ]נִ סָּ הa Abrahán…” (Gn
22,1).7 Desde tiempos remotos, los intérpretes han lidiado con el motivo o la
razón de esta prueba. Una anotación en la masora parva del Códice
5 Hay pocas excepciones. Sólo en Job 4,2 no lee la raíz נסהpor alguna forma de
πειράζω o ἐκπειράζω. Pero se trata de un texto de difícil lectura ante el cual opta por
leer interpretativamente μὴ πολλάκις. Por otra parte, sólo en dos ocasiones lee
πειράζω en versos en donde no existe ninguna forma de נסה: Sal 34,16
(=בחנפיἐπείρασάν με) y Dn 12,10 ( =יתבררוπειρασθῶσι). Por otra parte, cabe
destacar que las raíces griegas presentan en su campo semántico un sentido adicional,
que es menos desarrollado en las ocurrencias de su contraparte hebrea, a saber, la
idea de “intentar, procurar, tratar” (2 Mac 2,23; 11,19; Hch 9,26; 16,7; 24,6), que sólo
se puede apreciar en Dt 28,56.
6Es la idea que vuelcan sobre estos casos algunas traducciones modernas en español
(por ejemplo, RV60, PER, LBA).
7 A menos que se indique lo contrario la traducción del texto bíblico es personal.
Boskamp – Una nota sobre el uso de nasah en el AT… 247
Leningradensis B19a da cuenta del problema: כת סה ̇ וב̇ כת שא̇ ̇ =( ו̇ דocurre 6
veces, 4 de las cuales está escrito con שאy 2 veces escrito con )סה. No se
trata de una variante, sino de un intento de armonización. Gn 22,1 generó
para algunos intérpretes judíos un problema teológico, debido a que la
existencia de una prueba por parte de Dios podría llegar a implicar que él no
sabía de antemano cual sería la respuesta de Abrahán. Por tal razón, algunos
preferían leer “( נשאlevantar” o “exaltar”) en lugar de נסה, lo cual se ve
claramente reflejado en el Midraš Génesis Rabbah 80,55.8 Sin embargo, ya en
la edad media Ibn Ezra había cuestionado este punto al establecer una regla
importante de interpretación: El significado de una frase u oración debe ser
siempre entendido de acuerdo con su contexto.9 Y más aún, si una frase o un
relato contradice una idea teológica, como por ejemplo la omnisciencia
divina, no se debe alterar el texto para que se ajuste a esa idea.10 Por esa razón,
Ibn Ezra declaró: “However, the plain meaning of the entire chapter
contradicts this interpretation. The word nissah is thus to be taken literally”.11
El relato nos remonta a una época de la vida de Abrahán dónde éste disfruta
visiblemente de las bendiciones divinas. Primero, disfruta del tan anhelado
cumplimiento de la promesa divina de tener un hijo de su esposa Sara (21,1-
7). Segundo, ha quedado atrás la rivalidad entre Sara y Agar, como también
la tristeza por la partida de su hijo Ismael gracias a la garantía de la protección
y bendición divina (vv. 8-21). Por último, tras llegar a un acuerdo pacífico
con el rey filisteo Abimélec (vv. 22-33), Abrahán se encuentra establecido por
largo tiempo en Beerseba (vv. 33-34), lo cual le permite gozar de una
estabilidad y una prosperidad prolongada. Es en este escenario idílico que
acontece la prueba divina. Es el momento de mayor tranquilidad y
prosperidad en toda la vida del patriarca. Una situación por demás parecida
a la de otro patriarca, Job.
Sin embargo, aunque han pasado muchos años, la existencia de la prueba
exige recordar que no todo en la vida de Abrahán fue intachable. A la fe
8Jacob Neusner, Genesis Rabbah. The Judaic Commentary to the Book of Genesis. A New
American Traslation (Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1985), II: 275.
9Jean-Louis Ska, “The Study of the Book of Genesis: The Beginning of Critical
Reading”, en The Book of Genesis: Composition, Reception, and Interpretation, ed. Craig A.
Evans, Joel N. Lohr y David L. Petersen, SupVT, 152 (Leiden, Bélgica: Brill, 2012),
10-11.
10 Ska, “The Study of the Book of Genesis: The Beginning of Critical Reading”, 11.
11[Ibn Ezra, Genesis, 222] Citado en Ska, “The Study of the Book of Genesis: The
Beginning of Critical Reading”, 10.
248 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
ejercida para salir de su tierra hacia una tierra desconocida (Gn 12,1-8), le
siguió una mentira grave en Egipto que puso en riesgo el cumplimiento de la
promesa e implicó una salida deshonrosa de aquel lugar (vv. 9-20). A la fe
ejercida para creer en la promesa divina y que esto le sea contado por justicia
(Gn 15), le siguió la decisión equivocada de llegarse a la sierva de Sara, como
un intento humano de buscar el cumplimiento de la promesa (Gn 16). A la
fe ejercida en confirmación del pacto divino por medio de la circuncisión (Gn
17), le siguió otra vez la misma mentira en torno a su vínculo con Sara, que
nuevamente puso en riesgo el cumplimiento de la promesa. Tras todo esto,
cualquier lector atento podrá llegar a una pregunta similar: ¿era Abrahán
merecedor de tantos cuidados por parte de Dios?
Ante un escenario universal en conflicto no es difícil pensar que esas dudas
hayan sido presentadas delante de Dios. Curiosamente, aunque el texto no
tenga ninguna alusión explícita a dichos planteos, antiguas interpretaciones
sobre el texto dentro del judaísmo presuponían de hecho tal escenario.
Diversas declaraciones señalan la participación de ángeles malos como
instigadores de la prueba, de igual manera como aconteció en la historia de
Job.12 En Jubileos 17,15-16 se atribuye el rol de instigador al “príncipe
Mastemah”. El sustantivo femenino משטמהsignifica básicamente
“oposición”.13 El pasaje lee:
En el séptimo septenario, en su primer año, en el primer mes, en este jubileo,
el doce de este mes, se dijo en los cielos de Abrahán que era fiel en todo lo
que se le ordenaba. Dios lo amaba, pues había sido fiel en la adversidad.
Llegó el príncipe Mastema y dijo ante Dios: -Abrahán ama a su hijo Isaac y
lo prefiere a todo. Dile que lo ofrezca en holocausto sobre el altar y verás si
cumple esta orden. Entonces sabrás si es fiel en todo tipo de pruebas.
El príncipe Mastemah es reconocido en el propio libro como el jefe de los
demonios (Jub 10,7). En relación al relato de la Aqedah es nuevamente
mencionado en Jub 18,9 y 11 en ocasión de los incidentes ocurridos junto al
altar.
12Abraham Kuruvilla, “The Aqedah (Genesis 22): What is the author doing with What
He is saying?”, Journal of Evangelical Theological Studies 55, no. 3 (2012): 491; Joseph A.
Fitzmyer, “The sacrifice of Isaac in Qumran literature”, Biblica 83, no. 2 (2002): 211-
229. De hecho para Moshe J. Bernstein (“Angels at the Aqedah: A Study in the
Development of a Midrashic Motif”, Dead Sea Discoveries 7, no. 3 [2000]: 267), esta
interpretación es conceptualmente dependiente del paralelo entre ambas historias.
13 Fitzmyer, “The sacrifice of Isaac in Qumran literature”, 216-217.
Boskamp – Una nota sobre el uso de nasah en el AT… 249
dijo [Abraham]-. ¿qué inocente se ha perdido? [Job 4,7] –Viendo que no le haría
caso, le dijo: He oído una palabra secretamente [Job 4,7]; me llegó desde más allá
de la cortina [celeste]: Habrá holocausto de carnero, no habrá holocausto de
Isaac. –El castigo de los mentirosos –replicó- es que no les creen cuando
dicen la verdad. (Sanedrín 89b).18
En Pirqé Rabbí Eliezer 31,4 también se alude al “acusador”, cuando intentaba
apartar al carnero para de este modo invalidar el sacrificio.19
Otras fuentes coinciden en involucrar a otros seres celestiales en la
motivación de la prueba sin evocar a una personalidad en particular. Por
ejemplo, Génesis Rabbah 55,4 menciona un debate en la corte celestial que
involucra a los “ángeles ministradores”: “Any passage in which it is said, ‘And
the Lord’, refers to him and his court,’ it was the ministering angels who said
to him, ‘This Abraham has rejoiced and given joy to everyone, but he did not
set aside for the Holy One, blessed be he, an ox or a ram.”20 Por su parte,
Pseudo-Filón en Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum 32,1-2 asigna como causa de la
prueba un estado de celos y envidia entre los ángeles en relación con
Abrahán: “And the angels were jealous [zelati] against him, and the orderers
of the hosts envied [invisi] him. And it came to pass, when they were jealous
[zelarent] against him, God said unto him: Saly for me the fruit of thy belly
and offer for my sake that which I gave thee.”21
En resumen, estas fuentes consultadas, aunque con matices diversos,
coinciden en señalar dos aspectos esenciales: (1) se involucra a seres
celestiales como parte de la causa que motiva la prueba, siendo alguno de
estos agentes el principal instigador de la misma, y (2) una constante
participación en el transcurso de la prueba, intentando desviar la obediencia
del patriarca.
Pero, ¿cuál es la finalidad de la prueba? Los otros pasajes del AT en donde se
menciona a Dios probando a los hombres nos pueden arrojar luz para dar
respuesta a esta pregunta.
18 Ibíd., 366.
19 Pérez Fernández, Los capítulos de Rabbí Eliezer, 221.
20 Neusner, Genesis Rabbah, 269.
21 M. R. James, trad., The Biblical Antiquities of Philo (New York: Ktav, 1971), 174-175.
Boskamp – Una nota sobre el uso de nasah en el AT… 251
El propósito de la prueba
En el Pentateuco el vocablo se usa otras 7 veces para describir la acción divina
de probar a personas o a su pueblo. Con el mismo sentido se usa 3 veces en
Jueces y una vez en 2 Crónicas y en Salmos. A la luz de todas estas referencias
se construye un campo semántico asociado al tema de la prueba y que a su
vez explica el propósito de la misma (cf. Cuadro 1):
Cuadro 1: נסהteniendo a Dios como sujeto en el Pentateuco
Referencia Texto
Ex 15,25 “Y él clamó a Yhwh, y le mostró Yhwh un árbol; y él lo
hechó al agua, y el agua se volvió dulce. Allí les dio
estatutos ( )חקy mandatos ()מׁשפט, y allí los probó (”)נסהו.
Ex 16,4 “Y dijo Yhwh a Moisés: ‘He aquí les haré llover pan del
cielo. El pueblo saldrá y recogerá cada día para su día. De
modo que los pondré a prueba ( )אנסנוpara ver si andan
( )הלךen mi ley ( )בתורתיo no.”
Ex 20,20 “Y respondió Moisés al pueblo: ‘No teman, porque Dios
vino para probarlos ()נסות, y para que su temor ( )יראתוesté
sobre ustedes para que no pequéis ()לבלתי תחטאו.’”
(Contexto de la entrega de las tablas de la Ley)
Dt 8,2 “Recuerda todo el camino que te hizo andar Yhwh tu Dios
estos cuarenta años en el desierto, para humillarte ( )ענתךy
para probarte ()לנסתך, para conocer ( )לדעתlo que hay en tu
interior ()בלבבך, si guardarías ( )התׁשמרo no sus
mandamientos ()מצותו.”
Dt 8,16 “Te alimentó con maná en el desierto que tus padres no
conocían, para humillarte ( )ענתךy probarte ()נסתך, para
finalmente hacerte bien ()להיטבך באחריתך.”
Dt 13,3 [4] “No escuches las palabras de aquel profeta o soñador de
sueños, porque Yhwh vuestro Dios te está probando ()מנסה
para saber ( )לדעתsi amas ( )אהביםa Yhwh vuestro Dios con
todo vuestro corazón y con toda vuestra alma.”
Dt 33,8-9 “Para Leví dijo: ‘Tu Tumim y tu Urim sean para el hombre
piadoso a quien tu probaste ( )נסיתוen Masah, con quien
contendiste ( )תריבהוen las aguas de Meribá. Dijo a su padre
y a su madre: ‘Nunca los he visto’, y a sus hermanos: ‘no os
252 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
22Tal sería el caso, por ejemplo, de la prueba a Israel por medio de los falsos profetas
(Dt 13,3) o la prueba del rey Ezequías con la visita de los embajadores (2 Cro 32,31).
Boskamp – Una nota sobre el uso de nasah en el AT… 253
un auténtico “amor” ( ;אהבDt 13,3).23 Por esa razón, se dice que Dios probó
a Ezequías en relación a los embajadores de Babilonia, para “conocer todo lo
que había en su corazón” ( ;לדעת כל־בלבבו2 Cro 32,31). El salmista también
pide que Dios lo pruebe al nivel más íntimo y profundo de su ser (Sal 26,2),
cuya fuente es expresada en el pensamiento hebreo por los riñones ( )כליהy
el corazón ()לב. El propósito es que sea demostrada su integridad y
obediencia (vv. 3-11).
En tercer lugar, la acción de probar tiene una connotación positiva. La prueba
puede procurar prevenir el pecado (Ex 20,20) o asegurar la prosperidad (Dt
8,16). Es importante destacar que los ejemplos de pruebas citados
anteriormente nos remiten a personas o a un pueblo que goza del favor
divino. Los justos o escogidos son probados.
En resumen, el “probar” implica poner en evidencia la obediencia a la ley,
pero también traer a la luz las intenciones verdaderas que están detrás de
dicha obediencia. Aquello que en esencia sólo es conocido por Dios, se hace
visible por medio de la prueba. Dios no realiza la prueba para conformarse a
sí mismo, sino que la prueba corrobora ante el universo el juicio divino. Solo
un escenario en conflicto da justas razones para este proceder peculiar de
Dios.
23Esta vinculación ha sido claramente notada por otros autores. Cf. Luis Alonso
Schökel, Diccionario bíblico hebreo-español (Valencia, España: Institución San Jerónimo,
1992), s.v. « ;»נסהTerry L. Brensinger, «»נסה, en NIDOTTE, ed. por Willem A.
VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1999), 3:112.
24 Holbrook, “Gran conflicto”, 1090-1093.
254 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
ello, Dios controla en todo tiempo la prueba. Sin quebrantar los límites
humanos, la conduce hasta aquel punto donde las verdaderas motivaciones
se hacen claramente visibles para un universo que mira expectante lo que
acontece con las criaturas humanas (1 Co 4,9). Es por esta razón que la
prueba es de naturaleza investigativa, y necesaria antes de que Dios restaure
todas las cosas.
Retomando el relato de la Aqedah, las razones esgrimidas por el Ángel de
Yhwh para reconfirmar la promesa y pronunciar su bendición (Gn 22,12.15-
18), señalan de algún modo el tópico de debate. Al igual que en el caso de
Job, se duda de las motivaciones o de la perfecta obediencia de Abrahán. El
“temor de Yhwh” podía tener motivaciones incorrectas.
El “ahora sé” (Gn 22,12) no cuestiona la omnisciencia divina, antes bien la
confirma. Dios no escoge a Abrahán luego de pasar esta última prueba.
Tampoco su bendición es ofrecida por primera instancia aquí. El toledot de
Taré ya nos ha mostrado que Dios eligió a Abrahán mucho antes de esta
prueba, y que la promesa y la bendición fueron ofrecidas en ocasión del
llamado divino (Gn 12,1-3). Las mismas fueron confirmadas luego por medio
del pacto (Gn 15). El tema es que las desobediencias del patriarca pusieron
en tela de juicio la elección divina. De este modo, el “ahora sé” es la
confirmación pública de que Dios estuvo desde el principio en lo correcto.
No lo podría decir mejor que Rashí cuando comentó: “Pues ahora sé. Quiere
decir: De ahora en adelante tengo con qué responder al Satán y a las naciones
que se sorprenden ante Mi cariño por ti. Ahora ya tengo una justificación,
pues se darán cuenta de que eres temeroso de Dios”.25 El gran propósito de
la prueba es mostrar aquello que se encuentra en el interior del hombre, las
verdaderas motivaciones que le mueven en sus acciones. Aquello que Dios
conoce, pero escapa a las percepciones de las demás criaturas, se hace
claramente visible por medio de la prueba.
Abstract
The main theme in Exodus 19 involves God’s presence that brings the covenant and
holiness to the people of Israel, both gifts from God. They are no more slaves in
Egypt, they are becoming God’s chosen people. That brings a responsibility for
Israel: they have a mission. Exodus 19 may be divided into three main sections, or in
more detail, eight subsections elaborated around the concept of holiness and framed
by Moses movements up and down Mount Sinai, and including the movements of
the people out of Egypt and out of the camp to meet God. All the narrative goes
around this theme as the people prepare for and experience God’s presence. Exodus
19 presupposes God’s covenant with Israel forefathers that already at that time
announced the future covenant. He wishes for them to be his special treasure among
the nations; they will show what He intends to perform in behalf of all the families
of the Earth. Here is where holiness enters to the picture. This holiness is expressed
in exclusiveness toward God and in cleanness in both physical as well as moral
spheres. Therefore, holiness is both a benefit and a pre requisite for the covenantal
relationship.
Resumen
El tema principal en Éxodo 19 tiene que ver con la presencia de Dios que trae al
pueblo de Israel el pacto y la santidad, ambos dones de Dios. Ya no son esclavos en
Egipto, se están convirtiendo en el pueblo elegido de Dios. Eso trae una
responsabilidad para Israel: tienen una misión. Éxodo 19 se puede dividir en tres
Résumé
Le thème principal d’Exode 19 concerne la présence de Dieu qui apporte au peuple
d’Israël l’alliance et la sainteté, deux dons de Dieu. Ils ne sont plus des esclaves en
Égypte, ils deviennent le peuple élu de Dieu. Cela implique une responsabilité pour
Israël: ils ont une mission. Exodus 19 peut être divisé en trois sections principales
ou, plus en détail, huit sous-sections élaborées autour du concept de sainteté et
encadrées par les mouvements de Moïse le long du mont Sinaï, ainsi que les
mouvements des personnes sortant de l’Égypte et du camp rencontrer Dieu. Toute
la narration tourne autour de ce thème pendant que les gens se préparent et font
l’expérience de la présence de Dieu. Exode 19 présuppose l’alliance de Dieu avec les
ancêtres d’Israël qui, à ce moment-là, avait annoncé l’alliance future. Il souhaite qu’ils
soient son trésor spécial parmi les nations; ils montreront ce qu’il a l’intention
d’accomplir au nom de toutes les familles de la terre. Voici où la sainteté entre dans
l’image. Cette sainteté s’exprime en exclusivité envers Dieu et en pureté, tant dans les
sphères physiques que morales. Par conséquent, la sainteté est à la fois un avantage
et une condition préalable à la relation d’alliance.
Introduction
2 David Dorsey, The Literary Structure of the Old Testament: A Commentary on Genesis-Malachi
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1999), 72-73.
Chacón – God’s Presence… 257
3 Joe M. Sprinkle, ‘The Book of the Covenant’: A Literary Approach, Journal for the Study of the
Old Testament Supplemental Series, 174 (Sheffield, England: JSOT Press, 1994), 17-27.
4 John I. Durham, Exodus (Dallas, TX: Word Books, 1987), 260-261.
258 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Preliminary Considerations
Exodus 19 is part of a series of concentric narratives that extend even beyond
the book of Exodus. The wilderness narrative, for example, goes at least from
Exodus 16 until Deuteronomy5 34, covering all the Israel wandering in the
wilderness since their leaving from Egypt up to their arriving to the Promised
Land frontier in the dawn of their conquest of Canaan. Inside this larger
context, Sinai narrative goes from Exodus 19:3 after the people arrived to the
desert of Sinai and camped at the feet of Mount Sinai and ends in Numbers
10:10.6 Numbers 10:11-36 shows their departure from Mount Sinai. Inside
The Sinai narrative, is located the narrative related to the Bundesbuch, which
covers Exodus 19:3-24:11. Therefore, Exodus 19 stands as the introduction
to the Sinai narrative where the covenant narrative, covers, so to say, its first
stage.
The literary structure of Exodus 19-24 has been the motive of discussion as
how do narrative and law relate to each other, and second how to understand
spatial movements, particularly those movements related to Moses’ journeys
up and down Mount Sinai. Beside these issues, Exodus 19 features important
theological themes that will arise as we analyze its content.
The relationship between narrative and law in Exodus 19-24, has been
addressed by Sprinkle. Sprinkle approaches this passage in a literary and
synchronic approach, seen an overall literary structure in the section.7
5 James K. Hoffmeier, Ancient Israel in Sinai: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Wilderness
Tradition (Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2005), 3.
6 Dorsey, The Literary Structure of the Old Testament, 72-73.
7 See literary considerations in Sprinkle, ‘The Book of the Covenant’: A Literary Approach, 17-27.
See the theological considerations in Joe M. Sprinkle, “Law and Narrative in Exodus 19-
24,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 47, no. 2 (2004): 235-252. See the references
for the related bibliography.
Chacón – God’s Presence… 259
13 Hoffmeier, Ancient Israel in Sinai, 4-33, for argumentation related to historicity and
historiography of the Wilderness tradition, and 35-249 for the argumentation relative to the
evidence.
14 On repetition as literary technique in biblical narrative see Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical
Narrative (New York, NY: Basic Books, 1981), 88-113. Ibid., The World of Biblical Literature
(New York, NY: Basic Books, 1992), 35-40, 72-75.
15 Burke O. Long, “Framing Repetitions in Biblical Historiography,” Journal of Biblical Literature,
106, no. 3 (1987): 399.
16 John H. Sailhamer, The Pentateuch as Narrative (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992), 81. In
reference to the narrative strategies used in the Sinai narrative (Exodus 19:1-Numbers
10:10), see 46-59.
17 Three main sections: 19:1-2, 19:3-15 and 19:16-25 in Sailhamer, The Pentateuch as Narrative,
281-283. Two main sections: 19:1-15, and 19:16-25 in Durham, Exodus, 256-261, 266-270.
18 The verbal root vd;Q' occurs four times in the text 19:10, 14, 22, 23 and the noun in 19:6. The
morphological and statistical data, unless otherwise stated, comes from BibleWorks. (Version
6.0.12r; BibleWorks, Bigfork, MT: Hermeneutika Computer Bible Research Software,
2003).
19 The verb hl'[' appears eight times in chapter 19. Exod 19:3, Moses goes up to the Lord.
Exod 19:12, is a prohibition for the people not to go up to the mount. Exod 19:13,
instructions for the people to go up to the mount at the right time. Exod 19:18, the smoke
as part of God’s theophany ascends into the air. Exod 19:20, Moses goes up to the mount.
Exod 19:23, the prohibition for the people to go up to the mount is recount. Exod 19:24bis,
God’s order for Moses and Aaron to come up but a prohibiting for the priests to go up.
20 The verb dr;y' appears seven times in Exodus 19. In verse 11b, the verb -imperfect-
announces that God will come down at Mount Sinai. In verse 14a, the verb -wyyqtl of
succession- reports that Moses comes down from the mount. In verse 18a, the verb -
perfect- report that God descended on the Mount, this is retold in verse 20 with a wyyqtl of
succession. Verse 21a God orders Moses to go down to the people; this is an imperative as
well as in 24a where the order is repeated. Finally, in verse 25a, -wyyqtl of succession- reports
that Moses comes down from the mount.
Chacón – God’s Presence… 261
(7) 20c-24, (8) 25.21 This meeting with God’s presence is the main theme in
the chapter. Dorsey sees seven subsections as he draws Exod 19:1-2 out of
the structure of the chapter but if we look at Exod 19:1-2 as part of the
movement pattern of the chapter, then it has to be included as it is much
more related with Exod 19:3-25 than with chapter 18. This paper will follow
this scheme.
“1In the third month, that the sons of Israel had gone out from the land of
Egypt, on that very day, they came into the desert of Sinai. 2 And they came
out of Rephidim, they came to the desert of Sinai and they camped in the
desert; they camped there in front of the Mountain”.23
This passage is a narrative discourse24 with three consecutive wyyqtl verbs in
verse two, the first of them in first position in the sentence, marking the
succession aspect -W[ås.YIw:, Wabo’Yw" :, WnàxY] :w-: and then an epexegetical wyyqtl -~v'î-!x;YI)w:-.
The remaining verbs in verse one are an infinitive -taceîl.- and a perfect -WaB'.Þ
The last itinerary note is present in Exod 17:1. Then the text reports the
incident of the water at Rephidim (Exod 17:2-7) and the battle with Amalek
(Exod 17:8-16). Then chapter 18 tells us about Jethro’s visit to Moses (18:1-
12) and Jethro’s advice related to the ~yviÞar" over the people (Exod 18:13-27).
Exodus 19:1-2 gives the itinerary report twice. Verse 1 gives a summary that
verse two expands and the last sentence of verse two summarizes again.
Verse 1 gives the summary of the journey: point of departure and point of
arrival;25 centered in time aspect as the two temporal references are both at
the beginning of the sentences, the first at the very beginning of the verse
and the second in 19:1b just after the ’atnāh. This suggests that both temporal
references are pointing to the same event and not to the events of verse three
as others have suggested.26 Verse 2 provides details of the people’s trip,
making reference to the last camp27 before Sinai and then the arriving and
settling of the camp in front of Mount Sinai and thus it centers in space. Time
and place are emphasized here in Exodus 19:1-2. Both references to time and
space are absolute but unspecific.
Exodus 19:1 closes a cycle in Moses’ life, as God had promised to Moses at
Exodus 3:12 that he and the people would serve God there in the Mount
once God had delivered them out of the land of Egypt.28
The root ac'y" is used two times in Exodus 19. The first of them (Exod 19:1)
to remind us that the people went out from the land of Egypt by the mighty
hand of God and the second time (Exod 19:17) to tell us about the people
going out of the camp, leaded by Moses, to meet the Lord in front of Mount
Sinai.
The Mount Sinai is a key element in Exodus 19. The word rh; is used sixteen
times in chapter 1929 and 26 times in the section of Exodus 19-25. Meanwhile,
the word yn:ysi is used only two times up to here in the Pentateuch (Exod 16:1,
19:1) but six times in chapter nineteen30 with 37 usages in the whole OT.
Mount Sinai is the center of activities in the section, since once and again
Moses will ascend and come down to and from it. God will descend to the
25 See a discussion of geographical issues of Exodus 19:1-2 in Hoffmeier, Ancient Israel in Sinai,
169-171. For Mount Sinai’s identity, see 111-148.
26 See a brief discussion of the source and redactional arguments in Durham, Exodus, 261.
27 Was this the last point of camp before Sinai or should the twofold reference to camp in
Exod 19:2 be interpreted as if there was another one between Rephidim and Sinai but is
not mention here for sake of literary concerns? See Hoffmeier, Ancient Israel in Sinai, 147-
148.
28 Peter Enns, Exodus, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,
2000), 385.
29 Exodus 19:2, 3, 11, 12bis, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18bis, 20 (3), 23bis.
30 Two of these uses refer to the wilderness of Sinai (Exodus 19:1, 2) and the other four refer
to Mount Sinai: 19:11, 18, 20 and 23.
Chacón – God’s Presence… 263
mount and the people will live in function of the activities and phenomena
happening in and around the mount. It is not until Numbers 10:11, second
year, second month and twentieth day that the people will leave Mount Sinai
camp. Exodus 19:3-Numbers 10:10, the Sinai Narrative, all its content deals
with events at Mount Sinai and Exodus 19:1-2 tells us about the people of
Israel arriving to Sinai and Numbers 10:11-36 describes their departure.
The reference to ~yIr+c" m. i gives a frame of deliverance to the whole section.
Exodus is by far the OT book that uses this word the most, 175 times, with
Genesis as second with 88 uses. It refers to the events related in Exodus 1:1-
13:16. It was only because of God’s powerful intervention that the people
were able to come out of Egypt. Exodus 20:2 will refer again to this
deliverance narrative and henceforth is used in the entire OT and NT31 to
shape God’s people history and eschatology. Some specific textual markers
have been identified and analyzed by Ninow such as the seed, the land,
~l'_A[ tyriB32. and the “You Were There” motif.33
The reference to ~ydIªypir> conects with the events narrated in Exodus 17:1-7
and 17:8-16. The first passage tells us about God providing water for the
people after they quarrelled with Moses because of lack of water. The second
event portrays God special intervention in the battle between Israel and
Amalek. Both passages have God as the center of either special provission or
protection. These events are recalled again in Numbers 33:14-15 as part of
the review of Israel’s stages in her journey in the desert.
Exodus 19:3-15
Exodus 19:3-6
c
rh"åh'-!mi b ‘hw"hy> wyl'Ûae ar"’q.YIw: a ~yhi_l{a/h-' la, hl'Þ[' hv,îmoW 3
31 Although this paper does not share all the conclusions of the study of Houtman, an excellent
analysis of the impact of the book of Exodus in both OT and NT is found in Cornelis
Houtman, Exodus, vol. 1 (Kampen, Netherland: Kok Publishing House, 1993), 190-218.
32 Gen 9:16; 17:7, 13, 19; Exod 31:16; Lev 24:8; 2 Sam 23:5; 1 Chron 16:17; Psalm 105:10; Isa
24:5; 55:3; Jer 32:40; 50:5; Ezek 16:60; 37:26, among others.
33 For an extensive analysis of the Exodus Motif impact in the OT, particularly in the
Pentateuch and the Prophets, see Friedbert Ninow, “Indicators of Typology Within the Old
Testament: The Exodus Motif” (PhD diss., Andrews University, 2000), 110-185 –Analysis
in the Pentateuch, 186-303 –Analysis in the Prophets.
264 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
~t,êyair> ~T,äa; 4 `lae(r"f.yI ynEïb.li dyGEßt;w> bqoê[]y: tybeäl. ‘rm;ato hKoÜ rmoaê le
~k,Þt.a, abiîa'w" ~yrIvê 'n> bypeän>K-; l[; ‘~k,t.a, aF'Ûa,w" a~yIr"+c.mil. ytiyfi[Þ ' rv<ïa]
~t,yyI“h.wI yti_yrIB.-ta, ~T,rÞ >m;v.W yliêqoB. ‘W[m.v.Ti [;AmÜv'-~ai hT'ª[;w> 5 `yl'(ae
tk,l,îm.m; yli²-Wyh.Ti ~T,óa;w> 6 `#r<a'(h'-lK' yli-Þ yKi ~yMiê[;h'-ä lK'mi ‘hL'gUs. ayliÛ
`lae(r"f.yI ynEïB.-la, rBEßdT: . rv<ïa] ~yrIbê 'D>h; hL,ae… vAd+q' yAgæw> ~ynIßh]Ko
“3And Moses ascended to God and the Lord called him form the Mountain
saying: So you will say to the house of Jacob and declare to the sons of Israel:
4 ‘You yourself have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and [how] I carried you
on wings of eagles and I brought you to me. 5 Then now, if you indeed hear
my voice and keep my covenant, you will become to me a valued property
among all the peoples for mine is all the earth. 6Even, you yourself will
become to me a kingdom of priests and a holy people.’ These are the words
which you will speak to the sons of Israel”.
The LXX inserts the expression to. o;roj before ~yhi_l{a/h' and then read “to the
mountain of God” in the first sentence of verse three and LXXB replaces
rh"åh'-!mi with tou/ ouvranou/. According to Wever34 this is an explicative
translation. In verse 4a, some manuscripts read ‘in the Egyptians’, ~yIr"+c.miB.
instead of ‘to the Egyptians’ ~yIr"+c.mil.. In verse 4b the LXX, and Targum
Pseudo Jonathan add -mB.- ‘and I carried you [as in] wings of eagles’. In verse
5b, the LXX and Targum Pseudo Jonathan add lao.j and ay"m;m.[; respectively.
All these variants suggest that the copyists tried to smooth the text.
Before this passage, we have the itinerary report in verses one and two and
after it, we find Moses descending from the mount to tell the people what
God have said him for them. Thus, the limits of this subsection are clear.
Literary and theological parallelisms have been identified between Exod 19:3-
8b and 20:21b-24:8.35
The narrative sets the scene in verse 3a by telling us about Moses ascending
to God. This is the first line of action in this section. Once a perfect verb in
S-V position introduces the narrative scene -featuring the noun (Moses) in
34 John William Wevers, Notes on the Greek Text of Exodus (Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1990),
293.
35 Ludwig Schmidt, “Israel und das Gesetz: Ex 19,3b-8 und 24,3-8 als literarischer und
theologischer Rahmen für das Bundesbuch,” Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 113,
no. 2 (2001): 176-177.
Chacón – God’s Presence… 265
emphatic position-, a wyyqtl -ar"’q.YIw:- sets the temporal succession aspect. Then
an infinitive and two imperfects introduce God’s direct discourse.
The verb hl'Þ[' tells us about the first of at least three times that Moses ascends
to the mount (Exod 19:3a, 8b, 20b), in Exodus 19. It is now clear why LXXB
tries to smooth the text with the reading eivj to. o;roj tou/ qeou/. How can a
human being ‘ascend’ to God? The answer is in God’s calling for Moses to
come up into his presence 3b. Some explications may be useful before the
presentation of the following scheme that shows the vertical and horizontal
movements in Exodus 19.
36 Gerald Klingbeil, “‘Up, down, in, out, through and back.’ Space and Movement in Old
Testament Narrative, Ritual and Legal Texts and their Application for the Study of Mark
1:1-3:12,” Estudios Bíblicos 60, no. 3 (2002): 292.
37 Covenant is a massive concept in OT and this paper cannot deal with this concept. For a
review of the current research in this topic, see Scott Hahn, “Covenant in the Old and New
Testament: Some Current Research (1994-2004),” Current in Biblical Research, 3, no. 2 (2005):
263-292.
Chacón – God’s Presence… 267
in the future.38 The LXX39 translates it with eva.n plus aorist subjunctive then
using a third class condition that “presents the condition as uncertain of
fulfillment but still likely.”40 The emphatic construction ‘W[m.v.Ti [;AmÜv', and the
verb ~T,Þr>m;v.W are both under the effect of ~ai. According to Waltke and
O’Connor, the second perfect in this sentence is to be understood as a
“(con)sequencial wqtl” and then it expands the protasis.41
God here calls his people to hear/obey ([m;v') his voice and keep (rm;v') his
covenant. This is the right order and not as the people will answer later on in
24:3b: “all the words that the Lord spoke, we will do (hf,([]n): ” or in 24:7b: “All
what the Lord has spoken, we will do (hf,î[]n): and hear! ([m'(v.nIw>).” It really seems
that the people did not understand the real scope of what they were
answering to the Lord.
The word tyriB. has been used thirty-one times from Genesis 6 until Exodus
19:5. In fact, it is used only four times in Exodus up to here. Exod 2:24, 6:4,
6; 19:9. In Exod 2:24, it says: “And God heard their groaning and he
remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.” In 6:4,
it says “And also I established my covenant with them,” and 6:5 repeating
the idea of 2:24, it says: “And I remembered my covenant.” These passages
connect God’s covenant with Israel, with the covenant he made with their
ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This same connection will reappear later
on the renewal of the covenant in reference to the covenantal promise of the
land.42
In the apodosis (5b-6a), the first verbal construction is perfect (~t,yyI“h.wI) and
proleptically sees the future condition as a fact. The second is imperfect (yli²-
Wyh.T)i and sees the real possibility of the state that it implies. Both verbs in the
apodosis are qal and the LXX translates both of them using future indicative.
38 Wilhelm Gesenius, Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, 28th ed., 50th impression. Edited and enlarged
by E. Kautzsch; revised by A. E. Cowley (Oxford, England: Clarendon, c1910, 1990), § 159
l, q.
39 Alfred Rahlfs, ed., Septuaginta, 7th ed. (Stuttgart, Germany: Württembergische Bibelanstalt,
1935), 118.
40 Daniel Wallace, The Basics of New Testament Syntax (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000),
313; A. T. Robertson, Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research
(London, England: Hodder & Stoughton, 1934), 1018-1019.
41 Bruce K. Waltke and M. O’Connor. An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax (Winona Lake,
IN: Eisenbrauns, 1990), 526-527.
42 Deut 1:8, 35, 6:10, 18, 23; 7:13, 8:1; 9:5; 10:11; 11:19, 21; 19:8; 26:3; 25:15; 29:13; 30:20; 31:7,
31:20.
268 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Allusions to the content of the apodosis are found as far as 1 Peter 2:9 as this
passage uses the phrase basi,leion i`era,teuma( e;qnoj a[gion( which is an
allusion to Exodus 19:6a vAd+q' yAgæw> ~ynIßh]Ko tk,l,îm.m; that the LXX translates as
basi,leion i`era,teuma kai. e;qnoj a[gion.43 Additionally, Revelation 1:6 has the
phrase basilei,an( i`erei/j as well as 5:10,44 basilei,an kai. i`erei/j.45 Three
nouns describe what God wishes for the people to become as they engage in
covenant with him. The first and the third have mostly to do with the people’s
condition mainly in reference to their relationship with God and the second
one has to do with their function. However, the three nouns have to do
somehow with the mission God has for the people. This mission has to do
with the testimony about God that in a way or another they give before the
nations. When the covenant is broken in Exodus 32, this is what is at stake:
the people’s testimony about God. Exod 32:12 Moses says to God: “Why
should the Egyptians speak saying: ‘For evil he brought them out, to kill them
in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth?’” and Exod
32:25b says: “For Aaron have let them get out of control, for their ridicule
among their enemies”. It is clear that the testimony given before the nations
by Israel was critical as representation of God’s character and purpose for his
people and the nations (Gen 12:1-3).
In reference to the word hL'gUs., Enns emphasizes that the application of this
term to Israel displays God’s gracious election “purely by virtue of will and
desire… they have done nothing to deserve it. They are simply his special
possession; he has already shown this by to be the case by bringing them out
of Egypt and destroying their enemies.”46 Durham quotes that:
Greenberg (JAOS 71 [1951] 172–74) has linked this word to an Akkadian
term, sikiltu, which refers to a personal collection or hoard. The image
presented is that of the unique and exclusive possession, and that image is
expanded by what appears to be an addition (“for to me belongs the whole
43 See a discussion in J. R. Michaels, 1 Peter, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 49 (Dallas, TX:
Word Books, 1988), 107-109.
44 See the discussion in David Aune, Revelation 1-5, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 52a
(Dallas, TX: Word Books, 1997), 45-49, 362. G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation: A
Commentary on the Greek Text, NIGTC (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999), 192-195, makes
a brief review of Exodus 19:6 use in Jewish literature.
45 See Barbara and Kurt Aland, Johannes Karavidopoulos, Carlo M. Martini, Bruce M.
Metzger, Novum Testamentum Graece, 27th ed. (Stuttgart, Germany: Deutsche
Bibelgesellschaft, 1993), 743.
46 Enns, Exodus, 388.
Chacón – God’s Presence… 269
most of the times plural verbs and masculine plural pronouns are used51
except in Exod 19:9a (‘~['h' [m;Ûv.yI) where third masculine singular is used52. The
word ~[; may take either singular or plural. God speaks in first person to the
people in plural. Later on, chapter 20:3-17, will use the 2ms as object. This
structure has called the attention of several scholars and has brought
discussion in reference to its usage and the shifts from 2mp to 2ms and
backward. This paper will not deal with this problem and the ongoing
discussion53 but it is important to point that this feature has both a literary,
rhetoric, and a theological function.54 According to McConville, the 2ms in
the Bundesbuch is capable of addressing both the individual and the collective
subject making them personal and individually responsible of the law even
among the collective. The singular has the purpose of being persuasive (if-
thou structures, see Exod 19:4a) and enforce those laws that have
humanitarian overtones.
Exodus 19:7-8a
7
tae… ~h,ªynEp.li ~f,Y"åw: ~['_h' ynEåq.zIl. ar"Þq.YIw: hv,êmo aboåY"w:
‘wD"x.y: ~['Ûh'-lk' Wn“[]Y:w: 8 `hw")hy> WhW"ßci rv<ïa] hL,aeêh' ~yrIbå 'D>h;-lK'
hf,_[]n: hw"ßhy> rB<ïDI-rv,a] lKo± Wrêm.aYOæw:
“7So Moses went and called the elders of the people and he placed before
their presence all these words that had commanded him the Lord. 8And
answered the whole people together, and they said: ‘All that has spoken the
Lord, we will do’”.
Here in verse 7a, Moses descends55 and assembles the elders of the people
and places God’s covenantal offer before them as the representative leaders
of the people. However, the answer Moses gets is from the ‘whole people’,
51 3mp: Exod 19:7, 8a, 9a, 10a, 14b, 21b, 24b, 25b. Mp: Exod 19:15. 2mp: Exod 19:12.
52 Exod 19:16b, ~['Þh'-lK' dr:îx/Y<w:; 19:23b, tl{ß[]l; ~['êh' lk;äWy-al{.
53 See an introduction to the problematic and the bibliography in J. G. McConville, “Singular
Address in the Deuteronomic Law and the Politics of Legal Administration,” Journal for the
Study of the Old Testament, 97 (2002): 19-23.
54 See Sprinkle, “Law and Narrative in Exodus 19-24,” 237-238.
55 The verb dr;y' does not appears here in verse 7, but evidently Moses had to come down from
the presence of the Lord to assemble and meet the people’s elders, the verb aAB is the one
used here. Probably the writer avoided the use of the verb for literary purposes as well as
seems to avoid the use of hl'[' in 8b.
Chacón – God’s Presence… 271
they say: ‘All that has spoken the Lord, we will do’. Here is where, as already
noted, sadly seems that the people did not understand the full implications
of the answer they are giving to the Lord. This misunderstanding will have
heavy consequences as will be seen in Exodus 32.
Exodus 19:8b-13
hw"÷hy> rm,aYO“w: 9 `hw")hy>-la, ~['Þh' yrEbî .DI-ta, hv,²mo bv,Y"ôw: hf,_[]n: 8b
‘~['h' [m;Ûv.yI rWbú[]B; è!n"['h,( b[;äB. é^yl,ae aB'ä ykiønOa' hNE“hi hv,ªmo-la,
~['Þh' yrEbî .DI-ta, hv,²mo dGEïY:w: ~l'_A[l. Wnymiäa]y: ^ßB.-~g:w> %M'ê[i yrIåB.dB: .
~AYàh; ~T'vî .D:qiw> a~['êh'-la, %lEåa ‘hv,mo-la, hw"Ühy> rm,aYO“w: 10 `hw")hy>-la,
~AYæB; ŸyKiä yvi_yliVh. ; ~AYæl; ~ynIßkon> Wyðh'w> 11 `~t'(l{m.fi WsßBk. iw> rx"m+ 'W
T'lÛ .B;g>hiw> 12 `yn")ysi rh:ï-l[; ~['Þh'-lk' ynEïy[el. hw"±hy> drEóyE yviªyliVh. ;
Whce_q'B. [:gnOæ >W rh"ßB' ctAlï[] ~k,²l' WrïmV. 'hi brmoêale bybiäs' a‘~['h'-ta,
‘lqeS'yI lAqÜs'-yKi( dy"© ABø [G:“ti-al{ 13 `tm'(Wy tAmï rh"ßB' [;gEïNOh;-lK'
b
hM'hÞe albeêYOh; ‘%vom.Bai hy<+x.yI al{å vyaiÞ-~ai hm'îheB-. ~ai hr<êY"yI hroåy"-Aa
`rh")b' Wlï[]y:
“8bAnd Moses brought the words of the people to the Lord. 9And said the
Lord to Moses: ‘Behold I am coming to you in a dense cloud, so that the
people may hear while I speak with you and also they believe in you forever’.
Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord. 10And said the Lord
to Moses: ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow; they
must wash their garments. 11And they will be prepared for the third day
because in the third day, I will come in the sight of the whole people on the
mount of Sinai’. 12You will set limits to the people around saying: ‘Keep
yourself of going up to the mount or touching its borders. Whoever touches
the mount must surely be killed. 13No hand will touch him but he must surely
be stoned or shot through; whether animal or man, they will not live. When
the ram’s horn sounds, they must go up to the mount’”.
This section features some variants. This first variant is present in verse 10
as the LXX reads “kataba.j diama,rturai tw/| law/”| , ‘go down to the people
and solemnly testify to the people’ diama,rturai tw/| law is taken from verse
21 where it is the right translation of ‘~['_B' d[eäh'’. In verse 12a, Samaritan
Pentateuch reads ‘mount’ -rh'h'- instead of ‘people’ -~['h'- and then adds rmat
272 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
~[h la, ‘and to the people you are to say’. Once more it is evident that the
LXX tries to smooth the flow of the text.56
Exodus 19:8b-13 is built with ten imperfect verbal forms, eight infinitives
and then there are four wyyqtl of succession, four wqtal, two imperatives and
one perfect. The passage is clearly prescriptive. In verses 10-12a, wqtal verbs
predominate with four of them and only one yiqtol and one imperative.
However, in verses 12b-13, infinitive verbs are those that dominate with six
of them and five yiqtol verbs.
After Moses goes back to the Lord -verse 8b- [ascends], this section features
a dialogue between God and Moses (verses 9-13). In God’s speeches to
Moses, information related to the theophany is communicated (9a, 11b),
instructions related to the people’s preparation (10-11a, 12a) and some
legislation is present (verses 12b-13a).
As Moses goes back to the Lord, the writer avoids again the use of the verb
hl'Þ[' and uses instead bv,Y"ôw: as Moses brings back to the Lord the people’s
answer. Then God tells to Moses that he will speak loudly to Moses in the
people’s presence so the people “believe in you forever”. Evidently, God is
taking care of Moses’ leadership in the people’s sight. This is something that
the Lord will do in a really majestic way as related in verse 19b.
As already said, verses 10-11a and 12a contain instructions from God related
to the people’s preparation for their meeting with God’s presence. Verse 10
stresses the consecration (~T'vî .D:qiw>) of the people in the perspective of their
encounter with the Lord.
Verses 12b-13a contains a legislation related to what to do in case someone,
either a man or an animal, trespasses the limits of to the sacred mount. In
verse 12a, the Lord has said that the people shall set limits to the mount’s
boundaries and keep themselves from approaching the mount. Verse 12b
says, “Whoever touches the mount must surely be killed”. First, we have a
general consideration and then the sentence is stated.
The construction tm'(Wy tAmï is an emphatic affirmation as the infinitive is
prepositive and followed by a prefixed form of the same verb.57 In verse 13,
the procedure to apply the sentence is regulated with an apodictic regulation
introduced with the construction: dy"© ABø [G:“t-i al{.
56 Wevers opinion in reference to LXX variants here in verse 10 is that the translator is
“levelling” (sic) the text here as well as in verse 21. See Wevers, Notes on the Greek Text of
Exodus, 298.
57 Waltke and M. O’Connor, An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax, 582, 587
Chacón – God’s Presence… 273
Then the phrase hr<êY"yI hroåy"-Aa ‘lqeS'yI lAqÜs'-yKi( establish the procedure for the
execution. Finally the sentence hy<+x.yI al{å vyaiÞ-~ai hm'îheB.-~ai discloses the apodictic
nature of this legislation. All this legislation is intended to stress the holiness
of Mount Sinai because of the Lord’s presence.58
Exodus 19:14-15
WsßBk. ;y>w:) ~['êh'-ta, ‘vDEq;y>w: ~['_h'-la, rh"ßh'-!mi hv,²mo dr,YEôw: 14
WvßGT> -i la;( ~ymi_y" tv,l{åv.li ~ynIßkno > Wyðh/ ~['êh'-la, ‘rm,aYO’w: 15 `~t'(l{m.fi
`hV'a( i-la,
“14 And came down Moses from the mount to the people. And he sanctified
the people and they washed their garments. 15And he said to the people: ‘Be
prepared for the third day. Do not you approach a woman’”.
This passage is redacted with four successive wyyqtl, one imperfect and one
imperative. It is a narrative text that reports ritual elements.
Moses comes down and implements God’s instructions related to the
peoples’ consecration in preparation for God’s theophany. He consecrates
the people; they wash their garments and restrict themselves of sexual
activities.
The verb vg:n" is used here in strong prohibition in la;( plus imperfect jussive
verb construction. This verb is used 125 times in the OT and thirteen times
in Exodus. This word is used in several contexts in reference to coming near
or even getting in touch to a person, to God, to an object. Here it is
recognized that it refers, as a euphemism, to sexual intercourse.59 This
legislation here is seen as an anticipation of the laws of purity that are later
stated at Leviticus 15.60
The word ‘vDEq;y>w: is used previously as God sanctifies the seventh day Sabbath
(Gen 2:3), and later in the Pentateuch as Moses consecrates the tabernacle
and the priests (Lev 8:10, 30; Numbers 7:1bis). Moses is shown holy in the
presence of the people, Num 20:13. Samuel consecrates Jesse and his family
before he anointed David. Solomon consecrates the temple (2 Ch 7:7).
Exodus 19:16-25
Exodus 19:16-20b
~yqiør"b.W tl{’qo •yhiy>w: rq,Bªho ; tyOæh.B(i yviøyliV.h; ~AY“b; •yhiy>w: 16
rv<ïa] ~['Þh'-lK' dr:îx/Yw< : dao+m. qz"åx' rp"ßvo lqoïw> rh'êh'-l[; ‘dbeK' !n"Ü['w>
hn<+x]M;h-;( !mi ~yhiÞl{a/h'( tar:îq.li ~['²h'-ta, hv,ómo ace’AYw: 17 `hn<)x]M;B;(
dr:îy" rv,’a] ynEP.miû ALêKu !v:å[' ‘yn:ysi rh:Üw> 18 `rh")h' tyTiîx.tB; . WbßC.y:t.YI)w:
`dao)m. brh"ßh'-lK' dr:xî /Y<w: !v'êb.Kih; !v,[,äK. ‘Anv'[] l[;Y:Üw: vae_B' ahw"ßhy> wyl'²['
WNn<ï[]y: ~yhilÞ {a/h'w> rBedê :y> hv,ämo daom+ . qzEåx'w> %lEßAh rp'êAVh; lAqå ‘yhiy>w: 19
hw"ôhy> ar"’q.YIw: rh"+h' varoå-la, yn:ßysi rh:ï-l[; hw"±hy> dr,YEôw: 20 `lAq)b.
`hv,(mo l[;Y:ïw: rh"ßh' varoï-la, hv,²mol.
“16And it came to pass on the third day, when it was the morning that there
were voice and thunders and dense clouds upon the mount and very strong
voice of shophar; so all the people that was in the camp trembled. 17And
Moses brought the people to meet God out of the camp. Then they stood at
the foot of the mount. 18And all the face of Mount Sinai was [cover with]
smoke because had descended upon it the Lord in fire. Ascended its smoke
as smoke of a furnace and trembled the entire mount exceedingly. 19There
was voice of shophar coming exceedingly strong. Moses spoke and God
answered with thunder. 20Then came down the Lord upon the mount on the
top of the Mount Sinai”.
This passage has only two minor variants. In verse 18a, the LXX reads to.n
qeo.n and in 18b reads kai. evxe,sth pa/j o` lao.j sfo,dra which is not the
translation of dao)m. rh"ßh'-lK' dr:îx/Y<w: so changing rh"ß by ~['². Once more, the text is
slightly smoothed. Wevers suggests that the translator could have
harmonized this passage with Exod 19:16 that has hn<)x]M;B;( rv<ïa] ~['Þh'-lK' dr:îx/Y<w.: 61
From the syntactical perspective, this narrative passage is elaborated with ten
wyyqtl of succession plus three yiqtol, one perfect, one imperative and an
infinitive.
After the temporal localization of the event, sound and visual elements of
God’s theophany are display: ‘Voice, thunders and dense clouds’, (19:16a).
Thunder is associated with God’s mighty action.62 God put his rainbow at
the clouds, (Gen 9:13-14, 16). The pillar of cloud was a sign of Gods presence
with Israel during their wandering in the desert even before Sinai, (Exod
13:21, 22). The Angel of God was there in the cloud to protect the people,
(Exod 14:19-20). When God gave the manna, his glory was in the cloud,
(Exod 16:10). The pillar of cloud came to the entrance of the tabernacle when
Moses came into it to speak to the Lord, (Exod 33:9-10). When the tabernacle
was consecrated the pillar of cloud came on it and the glory of God moved
from the Mount to the tabernacle and filled it completely, (Exod 40:34-38).
There, the cloud was on the mercy seat, (Lev 16:2). Later the cloud will move
into the temple, (1 Kings 8:10-11).63
Exodus 19:16 says that there was ‘very strong voice of shophar’, BDB says
that it was a later development64 that brought the shophar to sacred use but
here it is announcing God’s presence although evidently it was not the people
who blow it. The people certainly trembled as well as the mount (Exod
19:18).
According to Exodus 19:17, ‘Moses brought the people to meet God out of
the camp’. The most of the movements in Exodus 19 are vertical but verses
1 and 17 tells us about horizontal movement related to the Exodus from
Egypt in verse one (taceîl.) and here the people come (WbßC.y:tY. I)w): with Moses to
really meet God’s presence for the first time. According to verse 13,
apparently the people were intended to come up to the mount probably with
Moses: ‘When the ram’s horn sounds, they must go up (Wlï[]y:) to the mount’.
Exodus 19:17b tells us that the people ‘…stood at the foot of the mount’.
Verses 20c-24 attempt against this reading of verse 13 unless something
changed in the interim.
Verse 18 tells more about the theophany and adds to the description the
presence of fire. Fire is a preponderant element in the book of Exodus as it
is a marker of God’s presence and action. In Exod 3:2, the presence of God
is in the burning bush. In Exodus 9:23 is part of God’s mighty actions in the
seventh plague. The nightly pillar of fire covered and marked God’s presence
for the people during their wandering in the wilderness, Exod 13:21-22. The
glory of God looked like ‘consuming fire’, Exod 24:17.
62 Song of Moses, Deut 32:41; Song of David 2Sam 22:15; Psalm 18:15; 77:18b -allusion to
Exodus 19:16?-; Psalm 144:6 –see verses 5-7.
63 Hoffmeier, Ancient Israel in Sinai, 201-203.
64 Brown, Driver, and Briggs. BDB-GESENIUS Hebrew-Aramaic and English Lexicon of the Old
Testament, 1051.
276 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Now the text depicts a mighty and majestic scene, as verse nineteen says that
‘There was voice of shophar coming exceedingly strong. Moses spoke and
God answered with thunder’. This section speaks twice of God descending
to Mount Sinai, verse 18a and 20a.
Once God’s presence is a reality on the top of the mount, both the mount
(Exod 19:18) as well as the people (Exod 19:16b) tremble (dr:îx/Y<w): in his
presence. All this majesty is in preparation for the Lord’s speech of Exodus
20:2-17 where God delivers his ten words to the people. Exodus 20:18-19
tells us about the reaction of the people who believed they would die because
of God’s presence but Moses explains (Exod 20:20) the purpose of all this
majesty, God wanted to test the people and put his fear in them in order to
keep them from sin. Once more God’s presence in tied to the holiness
imperative but has its origin in God’s action in behalf of the people.
Exodus 19:20c-24
20c
`hv,(mo l[;Y:ïw: rh"ßh' varoï-la, hv,²mol. hw"hô y> ar"’q.YIw:
drEÞ hv,êm-o la, ‘hw"hy> rm,aYOÝw: 21
~g:ôw> 22 `br"( WNM,Þmi lp;în"w> tAaêr>li ‘hw"hy>-la, WsÜr>h,y<-!P, ~['_B' d[eäh'
rm,aYOÝw: 23 `hw")hy> ~h,ÞB' #roïp.yI-!P, WvD"_q;t.yI hw"ßhy>-la, ~yviîG"NIh; ~ynI±h]Kho ;
hT'úa-; yKi( yn"+ysi rh:-å la, tl{ß[]l; ~['êh' lk;äWy-al{ hw"ëhy>-la, ‘hv,mo
‘hw"hy> wyl'Ûae rm,aYO“w: 24 `AT*v.D:qiw> rh"ßh'-ta, lBeîgh> ; rmoêale ‘WnB'’ ht'doÜ[eh;
Ws±r>h,y<¥-la; ~['ªhw' > ~ynIåh]Kho ;w> %M"+[i !roæh]a;w> hT'aÞ ; t'yliî['w> drEê-%l,
`~B'(-#r"p.y-I !P, hw"ßhy>-la, tl{ï[]l;
20cThen called the Lord to Moses, to the top of the mount and went up
Moses. 21After that, the Lord said to Moses: ‘Go down to warn to the people:
Do not break through to the Lord to see or will fall many from them. 22Ever
more, the priests who come near to the Lord must sanctify themselves, lest
the Lord break among them’. 23Moses said to the Lord: ‘The people will not
be able to go up to the Mount Sinai, for you warned us saying: ‘Set limits to
the mount and sanctified it’. 24And said to him the Lord: ‘Go down and come
up you and Aaron with you. But the priests and the people do not break
through to come up to the Lord lest he will break forth among them’”.
In this passage the LXX struggles with the name of the Lord as in verses 21,
22 and 23 reads qeo.j instead of ku,rioj and in verse 24 adds ku,rioj at the end
of the verse to smooth the syntax. Syntactically in this passage yiqtol verbs [6]
prevail. Wevers recognizes that the LXX replaces the Tetragrammaton in
Chacón – God’s Presence… 277
Exodus 19 with qeo,j several times (Exod 19:3, 7, 8, 18, 21, 22, 24). He
highlights that:
MT has hwhy 18 times and ~yhil_ {a/h' three times, whereas Exod has ku,rioj nine
times and o` qeo,j 13 times (one case of ku,rioj in verse 24 has not
counterpart in MT). Since the other ancient versions all support MT there
must be some tendency here to prefer a reference to deity rather than to
the personal name in the description of this theophany by Exod. 65
This passage features instructions from God to Moses, related to the people
and priests, and vertical movement is present: Moses goes up to the mount,
(Exod 19:20c) and receives instructions that imply to go down once more
(21a) but he actually descends in verse 25a. There is a dialogue between the
Lord and Moses related to the prohibitions for the people to come up to the
mount (Exod 19:21, 23) and the sanctification of the priests (Exod 19:22).
Additionally, God gives instructions to Moses for him [emphatic expression
-hT'aÞ ;-] and Aaron to come up to the mount but the priests and the people
must avoid to come up, (Exod 19:24). All these elements establish rings of
holiness in the mount and around it. This is a powerful concept that later one
will be enforce in and around the tabernacle and the Temple as God’s glory
moves from Mount Sinai to the tabernacle in the desert and then to the
Temple in Jerusalem.
In reference to the identity of the priests in Exodus 19:22, 24, those appear
here before the prescription of the formal priesthood (Exodus 28-29), the
designation of Aaron and his sons as the priests (Exod 28:1), their ordination
(Lev 8-9) and before the selection of the tribe of Levi for the duties of the
Tabernacle (Num 3:1-21). The presence here of the ~ynI±h]Ko is seen by Durham
as an anachronism that was inserted here but belongs to somewhere later.66
Enns sees the possibility that “Either priests of some sort exist before the
official establishment of the priesthood, or some portions of this chapter are
chronologically misplaced”.67 The text already testifies of God’s intention
that the whole nation becomes a ‘kingdom of priests’ (Exod 19:5). Probably
these ~ynI±h]Ko are from the firstborns that are so nearly related to the Levites
(Num 3:1-24) and even were somehow replaced by the Levites (Num 3:12).
Budd warns that this passage is not enough as “for supporting that this
entailed a priesthood of the firstborns”.68 Here it is important to remember
that all these passages are part of the Sinai narrative, Exodus 19:3-Numbers
10:10. All the events narrated in this section took place around Mount Sinai
in the same year.
Exodus 19:25
s `~h,(lea] rm,aYOàw: ~['_h'-la, ahv,Þmo dr,YEïw: 25
Conclusions
Exodus 19 has shown to be a text with no major textual issues as the textual
history of the passage seems to be limited to the efforts of the copyists to
smooth an already smooth syntax and some troubles in their dealing with the
translation of the Tetragrammaton.
From the syntactical perspective, the passage is mainly a narrative text -36
wyyqtl verbs, 31 of them (86.11%) with succession aspect. Internally, brief
sub-sections feature dialogue, legislation and even ritual as God gives Moses
instructions for the people to accomplish as they get prepared for the Lord’s
theophany. There is abundance of vertical as well as some horizontal
movement and abundance of sensorial information as the passage describes
the theophany on Mount Sinai.
God’s presence is the main theme in the passage. All the narrative goes
around this theme as the people prepare for and experience God’s presence
in Mount Sinai. Vertical movement reinforces this presence as it relates to
the approaching of Moses, Aaron, the priests and the people to God who
descend on the top of the mount. Horizontal movements also stress God’s
presence as they are related to God’s past and present mighty acts in behalf
Chacón – God’s Presence… 279
of the people. God’s presence as a theme carries the chapter toward the other
two main themes that pervade it: holiness and covenant.
Covenant in Exodus 19 is both pre-existent and a new event. Covenant in
Exodus 19 presupposes God’s covenant with Israel forefathers that already
at that time announced the future covenant with the people as their
descendants. From this perspective, Exodus 19 is the prologue to a covenant
renewal ceremony. Additionally, Exodus 19 is part of a new event as this is
the formal establishment of God’s covenantal relationship with Israel as his
people. Before this event, God related with the forefathers mostly as families
or even clans but now they are a people and as such they formally enter in a
covenantal relationship with the God of their fathers who is now their God
and they are his people.
As God establishes his covenant with Israel as a people, he wishes for them
to be his special treasure among the nations. He hopes for his people to
become the arena where he will show the nations what he intends to perform
in behalf of all the families of the earth. Here is where holiness enters in the
picture. As the passage stresses God’s presence all the way through, it also
stresses God’s requirement of holiness for the people. This holiness is
expressed in exclusiveness toward God and in cleanness in both physical as
well as moral spheres. Therefore, holiness is both a benefit and a pre requisite
for the covenantal relationship. Holiness is something that the people are in
relationship with God. This holiness imperative is in connection with God’s
action in behalf of the people.
RODOLFO SEGORBE NACH 1
Résumé
L’étude de la bénédiction sacerdotale permet la compréhension que la bénédiction
n’est pas limitée exclusivement aux biens matériels. La bénédiction est plus que la
possession de biens matériels touchables et visibles. C’est fondamentalement une
relation dans laquelle Dieu exprime son amitié avec les êtres humains, les traite avec
miséricorde, et les adopte comme ses enfants pour l’éternité. Sommes-nous bénis et
comment savoir si nous sommes ou pas bénis? C’est la question que chaque être
humain devrait se poser au quotidien.
Resumen
El estudio de la bendición sacerdotal permite comprender que la bendición no se
limita exclusivamente a los bienes materiales. La bendición es más que la posesión
de bienes materiales tangibles y visibles. Básicamente es una relación en la que Dios
expresa su amistad con los seres humanos, los trata con misericordia y los adopta
como hijos suyos por la eternidad. ¿Somos bendecidos y cómo sabemos si somos
bendecidos o no? Esta es la pregunta que cada ser humano debería hacerse a sí mismo
todos los días.
Abstract
The study of the Priestly Blessing expands the understanding of that blessing which
is not limited exclusively to material goods. The blessing is more than the possession
of tangible and visible material goods. It is basically a relationship in which God
expresses his friendship with human beings, treats them with mercy, and adopts them
as his children for eternity. Are we blessed and how do we know if we are blessed or
not? This is the question that every human being should ask himself/herself every
day.
Introduction
2 Voir Holman Bible Dictionary, sous l’article “Blessing and Cursing” [bénédiction et
malédiction], pour le nombre de fois que le verbe “bénir” et ses dérivées apparaissent.
3 Christopher Wright Mitchell, The Meaning of BRK “To Bless” in the Old Testament (Atlanta, GA:
Scholars Press, 1987), 95.
Segorbe – La … bénédiction dans Nombres 6:22-27… 283
4 Raymond Brown, The Message of Numbers, BST, ed. Alec Motyer (Leicester, England:
InterVarsity, 2002), 54.
5 Richard N. Boyce, Leviticus and Numbers, Word Bible Commentary, ed. Patrick D. Miller and
David L. Bartlett (Louisville, KY: Westminster, 2008), 125.
284 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Texte et traductions
Le texte hébraïque objet de cette étude exégétique et théologique est tiré de
la version de la Bible Hébraïque par Norman Henry Snaith, éditée par The
United Bible Societies, Agence d’Israël. Le texte hébraïque est comparé avec
six différentes traductions en Français, à savoir, la version Bible en Français
Courant (BFC), la version Bible Louis Second (LSG), la version française de
la Bible de Jérusalem (FBJ), la version Bible Darby (DBY), la version
Traduction Œcuménique de la Bible (TOB), et la version de la Bible Nouvelle
Edition de Genève (NEG).6
Le texte hébraïque
`rmo*aLe hv,îmo-la, hw"ßhy> rBEïd:y>w: Nombres 6:22
Wkßr]b't. hKoï rmoêale wyn"åB'-la,w> ‘!roh]a;-la,( rBEÜD: Nombres 6:23
s `~h,(l' rAmàa' lae_r"f.yI ynEåB.-ta,
s `^r<)m.v.yIw> hw"ßhy> ^ïk.r<b'y> Nombres 6:24
s `&'N<)xuywI) ^yl,Þae wyn"±P' Ÿhw"ôhy> rae’y" Nombres 6:25
s `~Al)v' ^ßl. ~feîy"w> ^yl,êae ‘wyn"P' Ÿhw"Ühy> aF'’yI Nombres 6:26
p `~ke(r]b'a] ynIßa]w: lae_r"f.yI ynEåB.-l[; ymiÞv-. ta,
Wmïf'w> Nombres 6:27
Similitudes et différences
Un coup d’œil attentif sur les textes des différentes traductions montre des
similarités et différences. Une manière simple pour déterminer ces points
communs et ces différences serait de créer un tableau comparatif de toutes
les versions. Un tel tableau signalerait les différences dans les éléments
suivants:
6 Nous n’incluons pas les textes des différentes versions ici dans cet article, à cause de l’espace.
Cependant, il est recommandé aux lecteurs de faire cet exercice de lecture, pour sa propre
vérification.
Segorbe – La … bénédiction dans Nombres 6:22-27… 285
Contexte historique
Le livre de Nombres couvre une période très importante de l’histoire du
peuple d’Israël. Cette période commence avec le recensement du peuple au
désert jusqu’à l’arrivée à la frontière de la Terre Promise, après quarante
années de pèlerinage dans le désert. C’était pendant l’organisation du peuple
en un camp bien structuré, et prenant les mesures pour un bien-être social,
moral et spirituel de ce peuple, que la formule de bénédiction fut donnée au
peuple de Dieu.
Historiquement parlant, ces événements eurent lieu pendant la période
d’hégémonie égyptienne en tant qu’empire mondiale, autour de 1400 av. JC.
Mais certains érudits, faisant appel à l’Hypothèse Documentaire, ont proposé
que si ce n’est pas tout le livre de Nombres, du moins la formule de
bénédiction devait être datée après l’exile Babylonien; par conséquent, un
matériel postexilique. Mais d’autres érudits, à l’instar de Noth et Gray
argumentent en faveur de son origine préexilique.11
8 R. Denis Cole, Numbers, NAC, ed. E. Ray Clendenen (Nashville, TN: Broadman &Holman,
2000), 3b: 127 (notre traduction).
9 Martin Noth, Numbers, OTL (London, England: SCM Press, 1968), 4: 57 (notre traduction).
10 Ibid., 4: 58 (notre traduction).
11 Voir ibid., 4: 57-59, et aussi Gray, Numbers, ICC (London, England : SCM Press, 1972), 71.
288 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
c’est une pièce de poésie hébraïque composée de trois lignes avec la structure
que voici:12
Ligne 1: 3 mots, 12 syllabes, et 15 lettres
`^r<)m.v.yIw> hw"ßhy> ^ïk.r<b'y>
Ligne 2: 5 mots, 14 syllabes, et 20 lettres
`&'N<)xuywI) ^yl,Þae wyn"±P' Ÿhw"ôhy> rae’y"
Ligne 3: 7 mots, 16 syllabes, et 25 lettres
`
~Al)v' ^ßl. ~feîy"w> ^yl,êae ‘wyn"P' Ÿhw"Ühy> aF'’yI
Toute la formule de bénédiction repose sur le nom divin YHWH qui est le
sujet de toutes les trois lignes et de ses six phrases, même s’il est mentionné
seulement dans les premières phrases au commencement de chaque ligne. En
réalité ce n’est pas nécessaire de le mentionner dans toutes les phrases; il est
déjà implicite dans la phraséologie.
Les mots-clés dans les expressions de cette formule sont: “bénir,” “garder,”
“face,” “luire,” “faire grâce,” “tourner vers,” et “paix.” Pour une
compréhension de ces mots-clés, ils doivent être étudiés à l’aide des lexiques
disponibles, sans considérer la conjonction copulative qui lie les phrases
entrent-elles.
Le verbe “bénir” en hébreu est $rb (barak). D’après le NBDB, cette radicale
hébreu peut avoir plusieurs significations, parmi lesquelles, “s’agenouer,”
“bénir,” “louer,” “saluer,” “féliciter,” et même “maudire.”13 Son
correspondant grec est euvlogew “eulogueo” qui est formé de deux termes,
euv “bien, bon,” et lo,gos, “logos” “parole” signifiant bonne parole, pour dire
“parler bien de,” “accorder la louange et la glorification,” “conférer une
faveur ou bénédiction sur.” C’est de là que vient le mot eulogi,a “eulogia”
qui peut vouloir dire “parler bien,” “discours favorable,” “flatterie,”
“bénédiction,” “louange,” “célébration,” parmi tant d’autres significations.14
Le terme latin pour bénir est bénédicère duquel provient le mot bénédictio, d’où
le mot français “bénédiction.” Ici encore le mot bénédicère est composé de
12 Cette structure est une combinaison de trois, une présentée par Cole, une proposée par
Maarsingh, et l’autre par Brown, à celles-ci j’ai ajouté les lettres hébraïques. Voir B.
Maarsingh, Numbers, TI (Grand Rapids, MI: W. B. Eerdmans, 1987), 27-28; Cole, Numbers,
127; et Brown, The Message of Numbers, 54.
13 Francis Brown, The New Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Peabody, MA:
Eisenbrauns, 1979), sv. “brk.”
14 The Analytical Greek Lexicon, with a Grammatical Analysis of each Word (Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan, 1967), sv. “eulogia.”
Segorbe – La … bénédiction dans Nombres 6:22-27… 289
deux radicales béné, bien, bon, et dicère, parler, dire. Cela veut dire “parler bien
d’une personne,” “rendre un bon témoignage de,” “apprécier.” Le terme
bénédictio veut dire “bien parler,” “discours d’encouragement,” “bénir,” “faire
l’éloge,” et son opposé est malédictio, maudire.15
Le terme “garder” est la traduction de la racine hébraïque rmv (shamar) qui
peut avoir les significations suivantes: “ veiller,” “garder,” “protéger,”
“sauvegarder,” “observer.”16 Son correspondant grec est fula,ssw (fulasso)
qui a les mêmes significations comme son terme hébreu.17
Le mot hébreu traduit par face en français est hn<P' (paneh). Ce mot a à voir
avec beaucoup d’aspects de la vie. Cela peut vouloir dire “la face” d’une
personne (Gen. 31: 2), la partie frontale de la tête humaine (Exod. 26: 9), soi-
même en personne (2 Sam. 17: 11), ou encore une attitude, de soumission
par exemple (Gen. 17: 3).18 Son équivalent grec est pro,swpon (prosopon) qui a
plus ou moins les mêmes sens.19
D’autre part, le verbe “luire” est la traduction du terme hébreu rwa (’or) qui
signifie “la lumière,” “produire la lumière,” “faire jour,” “illuminer,” “faire
luire,” “briller,” “faire ou causer quelque chose de briller.”20 Son équivalent
grec est le terme evpifai,nw (épiphaino), un mot composé de e;pi, au-dessus,
sur, dans, au-delà, par, vers, ou contre, dépendant du contexte; et fai,nw
verbe qui signifie “apparaître,” “faire apparaîtrai,” “amener à la lumière,”
“être visible,” “être vu,” “se manifester.”21
Le terme hébraïque traduit ici par “faire grâce” est le mot !nx (hanan) avec
ses dérivés !xe (hen) grâce, faveur, ~N"±xi (hinam) librement, gratuitement, et
15 James Morwood, The Pocket Oxford Latin Dictionary (New York, NY: Oxford University
Press, 1994), sv. “benedicere.” Voir aussi Cassell’s Latin-English and English-Latin
Dictionary, rev. J. R. V. Marchant, et Joseph F. Charles (London, England: Cassell, 19--?,
sv. “benedicere.”
16 Brown, sv. “shamar.”
17 Analytical, sv. “fulasso.”
18 A. S. van der Woude, TLOT, ed. Ernst Jenni, Claus Westermann (Peabody, MA:
Hendrickson, 1997), 1, sv. “paneh.”
19 Analytical, sv. “prosopon.”
20 Sverre Aalen, TDOT, ed. G. Johannes Botterweck et Helmer Ringgren (Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans, 1975), 1, sv. “’or.”
21 Analytical, sv. “epiphaino.”
290 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Interpretation
Après l’étude des mots clés trouvés dans les phrases du corps de la formule
de bénédiction (Nombres 6:24-26), il est temps d’entrer dans le texte pour
considérer le message qu’il renferme. Que dit le texte? Que veut dire le texte
avec son message?
Première lecture
Reprenant le texte, et utilisant la traduction proposée pour cette étude,
Et YHWH parla à Moïse en disant: “Parle à Aaron et à ses fils en
disant: C’est de cette manière que vous bénirez les fils d’Israël, en
leur disant: “Que YHWH te bénisse et te garde; que YHWH fasse
luire sa face sur toi et te fasse grâce; que YHWH tourne sa face vers
toi et te donne la paix. C’est de cette manière qu’ils placeront mon
nom sur les fils d’Israël, et moi-même je les bénirai.”
La première impression qui se dégage de ce texte c’est qu’il s’adresse aux
enfants d’Israël. Dieu, dans son profond désir d’accorder le meilleur à son
peuple, demande qu’Aaron et ses fils doivent prononcer de la bénédiction sur
les Israélites. Apparemment les bénédictions doivent profiter exclusivement
à ceux qui vont au lieu de la réunion, au sanctuaire. Unger déclare que “cette
bénédiction était prononcée par les prêtres après les sacrifices du matin et du
soir avec les mains levées, comme signalé dans le cas d’Aaron (Lev. 9:22). Le
peuple répondait par un amen.”30 Mais nous croyons que cette formule n’est
pas seulement pour ceux qui vont au sanctuaire dans le but d’adorer. Elle est
appropriée pour tout Israélite et pour toute occasion de la vie où la
bénédiction est nécessaire, même lorsqu’il n’y a pas un sanctuaire physique
(Gen. 1:22, 28; Apoc. 20:6; 22:14).31
Dans ce cas on espèrerait une sorte de bénédiction qui promet ou plutôt qui
accorde des bénéfices matériels comme dans le cas de Deutéronome 28, où
les bénédictions étaient bien spécifiques et dépendantes de l’obéissance: une
progéniture abondante, prospérité dans les villes et dans les villages,
supériorité sur les ennemis, récolte abondante dans le champ, beaucoup de
troupeaux de vache et d’autres animaux domestiques. Dans Nombres 6: 22-
27 la bénédiction est juste “une série d’expressions optatives, discursives où
le fait de bénir consiste en la prononciation d’une formule ou phrase par
laquelle celui que parle n’est pas très certain de la réalisation de son discours.
Par conséquent, il fait appel à Dieu pour la réalisation de ces souhaits le
moment venu.”32
Le message que Dieu a confié à Aaron et à ses fils par l’entremise de Moïse
relève plutôt du domaine spirituel, présentant un résumé essential des besoins
généraux et particuliers des personnes qui conforment le peuple spirituel de
Dieu de tous les temps. Ses huit phrases, y compris sa conclusion, sont
données par Dieu pour exprimer les fondements du salut et bien-être pour
l’humanité toute entière. Voilà notre compréhension du message.
Deuxième lecture
En considérant la bénédiction sacerdotale au travers de ses unités
formulaires, les intentions de ses phrases transmettent une sagesse totale, qui
pourrait être comprise de la manière suivante:
“Que YHWH te bénisse.”
Ce qui étonne de cette formule est le fait que Dieu instruit les Lévites sur
comment bénir le people, et le tout premier point de la formule de
bénédiction commence par “que YHWH te bénisse.” Qu’est-ce que cela veut
dire? Considérant la signification possible du verbe “bénir,” au lieu d’un
simple souhait que Dieu puisse déverser sur le peuple des biens matériels,
une progéniture abondante, de la bonne santé, une terre fertile et productive,
de la longévité et de la protection, cette expression pourrait poser les bases
d’une véritable bénédiction, à savoir, que Dieu soit en mesure de “bien
parler” de ses enfants, “rendre un témoignage positif” de son people. C’est
le premier sens des termes hébraïques, grecs et latins %rb ((barak), eu/logew
(eulogueo), et bénédicère. Donc, “que YHWH te bénisse” veut dire, “que YHWH
parle bien de toi, qu’Il rende un bon témoignage de ta personne.”
32 Mitchell, The meaning of brk “to bless” in the OT, 95 (notre traduction).
Segorbe – La … bénédiction dans Nombres 6:22-27… 293
En fait, lorsque YHWH rend un bon témoignage d’un être humain, parle
bien de cette personne, un tel individu est “béni,” qu’il possède des richesses
ou pas. Juste un exemple: Dieu parla bien de Job, Il a rendu un vibrant
témoignage de son serviteur, non pas à cause de ses possessions matérielles,
mais à cause de ses bonnes relations avec Dieu. Lorsque Dieu disait à Satan
que Job était un homme “intègre et droit, qui craint Dieu et s’écarte du mal”
(Job 1: 8, 9 FBJ), le Seigneur était en train de “bénir” Job dans le sens
fondamental du terme.
Il y a dans la formule de bénédiction une emphase mise sur la bonne relation
avec Dieu. Comme le dit si bien Rachel, “BRK est souvent une marque de
relation, indiquant l’existence d’une relation sacrée, légale ou sociale. Dieu,
les anges et l’humanité peuvent bénir; Dieu, l’humanité, les animaux et les
objets inanimés peuvent être bénis. En effet, ce qui est transmis par l’acte de
bénir diffère dépendant tant de son garant comme du bénéficiaire ”33
Ceci révèle à notre compréhension que lorsque dans la Bible les gens
bénissent les autres dans leurs salutations, ou dans leurs prières les uns pour
les autres en leur disant, “que le Seigneur te bénisse…” la signification est
premièrement un souhait que Dieu soit en mesure de parler bien des
personnes qu’ils saluent, ou pour lesquelles ils prient (Gen. 28: 3; Ruth 2: 4;
Psalm 128: 5; Psalm 134: 3). C’est lorsque YHWH est content d’une personne
qu’Il peut transformer son appréciation en des biens matériels tangibles, pour
la satisfaction de cette personne. Davis déclare que bénir quelqu’un c’est
“invoquer la faveur de Dieu sur cette personne, y compris la salutation et
même la salutation ordinaire, “que la paix soit avec toi.”34
“Et (YHWH) te garde.”
Le point ici est de placer au croyant et tout ce qu’il possède sous la direction
et la protection de Dieu. Les humains ne sont pas capables de se garder
vivants, sains et saufs. Dieu seul peut préserver des vies, les biens et la santé,
et protéger contre le mal et la mort. Les nombreuses déclarations scripturaires
sur ce sujet sont très révélatrices (Eccl. 8: 8; Ps. 34: 8; Ps. 91: 3 – 6, 11, 12;
121: 3 – 8). Gill dit que cette protection est de la fin du monde, du malin,
Satan, du mal du péché et de son pouvoir, de sa prévalence, et de sa
33 F. Rachel Magdalene, Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, ed. David Noel Freedman (Grand
Rapids, MI: W. B. Eerdmans, 2000), sv. “Bless, blessing” (notre traduction).
34 John D. Davis, Davis Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1977), sv.
“Blessing” (notre traduction).
294 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
35 John Gill, Gill’s Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1980), 1: 587-588 (notre
traduction).
Segorbe – La … bénédiction dans Nombres 6:22-27… 295
36 John Joseph Owens, Numbers, BBC, ed. Clifton J. Allen (Nashville, TN: Broadman and
Holman, 1970), 2: 102 (notre traduction).
37 Brown, 59.
296 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
quelqu’un c’est, soit changer son ancien nom pour un nom nouveau, soit tout
simplement ajouter un autre nom à son ancien nom. Prenant comme
illustration les Israélites déportés à Babylone, l’officier chef leur donne des
nouveaux noms (Dan. 1: 6-7). Ceci est placer un nom sur eux, car ils avaient
des noms savant; ils avaient une identité propre avant d’être déporté à
Babylone. Le geste de l’officier chef exprime un acte d’autorité sur ces
esclaves, un acte de supériorité sur eux. L’intention en leur donnant de noms
nouveaux est de leur assigner une nouvelle identité. De leur statut d’Israélites,
ils porteront maintenant la signature de l’autorité et de la supériorité
babyloniennes.
En donnant aux prêtres la formule de bénédiction comme un moyen de
placer son nom sur les Israélites, Dieu exprime sa volonté d’accorder à ses
enfants un statut nouveau, une nouvelle identité. C’est pour leur dire quelque
chose comme ceci: “vous êtes nés de vos parents terrestres, et vous avez un
nom et une identité terrestres; maintenant je veux que vous me preniez
comme votre père céleste, prenez sur vous la signature de mon autorité en
portant mon nom et une identité céleste.” Désormais vous serez appelés fils
et filles du Tout puissant, vous serez appelés par le nom de votre Dieu (Exod.
19: 5-6). Placer son nom sur quelque chose c’est lui apposer un sceau ou une
marque d’appartenance. “Le Seigneur a mis son nom sur le peuple Israélite
en tant que leur bon donateur (24a), un puissant protecteur (24b), un ami
fidèle (25a), un père qui pardonne avec amour (25b), un partenaire de
confiance (26a), un pourvoyeur généreux (26b), et un propriétaire unique
(27).”38
“Et moi-même je les bénirai.”
Le texte en hébreu présente cette phrase de cette manière, “et moi, je les
bénirai.” C’est une emphase pour attirer l’attention sur le fait que même si les
prêtres peuvent prononcer la formule avec geste ou pas, ils n’ont ni le pouvoir
ni l’autorité de transformer en réalité concrète et tangible leur énoncé. Dieu
seul a cette autorité et ce pouvoir, et Dieu seul peut rendre effective la
bénédiction sur quiconque Il veut.
Cette conclusion rappelle aux humains la vérité selon laquelle Dieu est le
Maître de l’univers qu’il a créé, le Maître de la vie qu’il accorde, le Maître du
salut qu’il offre, le pourvoyeur de tous les biens qu’il concède et le protecteur
de la vie physique et spirituelle. Alors, la bénédiction dans la vie de gens
dépend de leur relation avec Dieu: “recommande à l’Éternel tes œuvres, et
tes projets réussiront” (Prov. 16: 3).
38 Ibid., 59.
Segorbe – La … bénédiction dans Nombres 6:22-27… 297
les batailles et les guerres de leur vie (Exod. 14: 14). Un autre thème
théologique très important de ce passage est le concept de la grâce (25b), qui
présente Dieu comme le Dieu miséricordieux et compatissant qui pardonne
(Ps. 32:1, 2). Le concept de l’amitié et de l’amour de Dieu (26a) qui conduit
au salut de l’humanité pécheresse, en œuvrant pour la paix et la réconciliation
entre Dieu et la race humaine (26b).
Enfin, le texte apporte de manière implicite les thèmes de la transcendance
et de l’immanence de Dieu, la source de tout pouvoir et autorité, le Créateur
et Rédempteur, le propriétaire de toute chose. Le résultat de cela est le thème
implicite de l’économat humain des biens de Dieu: la vie, le temps, la santé,
la richesse et tout (Deut. 8:17-18). En fait, tout appartient à Dieu. Nous lui
devons tout ce que nous sommes, tout ce que nous avons et tout ce que nous
serons. Théologiquement parlant, la formule de bénédiction contient le
résumé des points doctrinaux essentiels relatifs au salut. De quelle manière la
réalité de la bénédiction affecte-t-elle les croyants de notre époque?
Application
Quelque chose d’intéressant dans la société d’aujourd’hui est que tout le
monde recherche de la bénédiction dans la vie. Dans chaque culture et cadre
de vie les gens aspirent à la bénédiction, et ont leur manière de bénir leurs
enfants et les personnes qu’ils aiment. Comprendre le concept même de la
bénédiction marque beaucoup de différence parmi les individus et les nations.
Pour certaines personnes, bénir signifie essentiellement de la richesse et tout
ce qui est de nature matérielle, et cela mène à la conclusion que seuls les riches
et les gens opulents peuvent être appelés “bénis.” De l’autre côté, les pauvres
et les moins favorisés sont considérés comme des gens maudits. Et à cause
de cette compréhension erronée du concept de la bénédiction, les gens
courent aujourd’hui après l’argent coûte que coûte.
L’étude de la bénédiction sacerdotale permet la compréhension que la
bénédiction n’est pas limitée exclusivement aux biens matériels. La
bénédiction est plus que la possession de biens matériels touchables et
visibles. C’est fondamentalement une relation dans laquelle Dieu exprime son
amitié avec les êtres humains, les traite avec miséricorde, et les adopte comme
ses enfants pour l’éternité. Sommes-nous bénis et comment savoir si nous
sommes ou pas bénis? C’est la question que chaque être humain devrait se
poser au quotidien.
Pour être considéré “béni” on doit s’assurer cette relation intime avec Dieu,
qu’il soit en mesure de parler bien de nous, rendre un témoignage positif de
Segorbe – La … bénédiction dans Nombres 6:22-27… 299
nous, comme il a fait avec Noé (Gen. 6: 9), avec Abraham (Gen. 18: 19), avec
Job (Job 1: 8, 9), et avec bien d’autres dans le passé. Pour être considéré
“béni” il faut s’assurer que Dieu est capable de sécuriser notre vie et la
protection de nos possessions tant matérielles comme spirituelles. Être béni
c’est voir Dieu pardonner toutes nos iniquités et nos transgressions. Dieu
veut et est prêt à nous bénir et à nous protéger, nous défendre contre tous
nos ennemis et tout mal dans la vie; prêt et désireux de pardonner tous nos
péchés, faire de nous ses amis, nous adopter et nous donner un nouveau nom
et une nouvelle identité; prêt à assurer notre paix en mettant sur nous son
nom à jamais. Sommes-nous disposés à bénéficier de la bonté de Celui qui
est l’Alpha et l’Oméga?
Conclusion
L’exégèse de Nombres 6: 22-27 a permis cette étude d’accéder à quelques
compréhensions fondamentales de la bénédiction sacerdotale, et les
incertitudes théologiques environnant son interprétation à ce jour, comme si
cette bénédiction fusse un simple énoncé de bon souhaits venant des prêtres
de l’Ancien Testament, ou venant des prêtres et pasteurs modernes de nos
congrégations. Voici le résumé de notre recherche dans les lignes suivantes:
Résumé
Pour résumer les résultats de notre recherche sur Nombres 6: 22-27, nous
considérons trois aspects principaux: la structure du passage, son contenu et
son herméneutique.
1. La structure de la bénédiction sacerdotale combine une narrative
prosaïque (vv. 22-23, 27) avec l’inclusion d’une pièce de poésie (vv. 24-
26) pour former une triple unité expliquant le but pour Dieu de déverser
de riches bénédictions sur son people: unité 1, le préambule ou
introduction (vv. 22-23); unité 2, le corps principal de bénédiction (vv.
24-26), et unité 3, la conclusion (v. 27). C’est un passage avec un
développement chiastique qui montre à sa base la volonté de Dieu pour
bénir, et à son sommet se trouve la miséricorde divine offrant le pardon
de péchés, sans lequel aucune bénédiction n’est possible (Esaïe 59:1-3).
2. Considérant l’aspect de son contenu, Nombres 6:22-27 est formé de huit
phrases importantes liées par la conjonction de coordination “et,”
phrases qui sont instrumentales dans la formule de bénédiction. (1)
YHWH te bénisse; (2) (YHWH) te garde; (3) YHWH fasse luire sa face
sur toi; (4) (YHWH) te fasse grâce; (5) YHWH tourne sa face vers toi;
300 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
(6) (YHWH) te donne la paix; (7) Ils placeront mon nom sur les fils
d’Israël; et (8) Moi-même je les bénirai. Ce contenu a constitué la base
pour aider à transmettre le message complet que Dieu a attaché au
concept de bénédiction. Dans son aspect herméneutique, la bénédiction
sacerdotale est un hymne de salut dans lequel Dieu a fait connaître son
profond désir de sauver l’humanité en pardonnant les péchés de tous, et
bénir chacun avec toute sorte de bénédictions matérielles et spirituelles
ici, maintenant et pour toujours. Le point essential du salut est que Dieu
soit satisfait et content avec chacun de ses enfants et parle bien d’eux.
Mais, étant donné que le people de Dieu est formé des pécheurs
condamnés à mourir, Dieu a envoyé le Christ comme un Agneau
sacrificiel pour mourir pour les péchés du monde (Isa. 53: 5-7; Jean 1:29).
Nous sommes sauvés par grâce, au moyen de la foi dans le sang versé de
Jésus-Christ.
Conclusions
Cette étude a révélé des grandes richesses exégétiques et théologiques, à tel
point qu’il est difficile d’arriver à une seule conclusion, mais plutôt à plusieurs
conclusions. Et même avec cette option, il y a encore plusieurs champs à
explorer, de telle sorte que la probité intellectuelle demande de reconnaître le
fait qu’il y a beaucoup plus de manières de conclure n’importe quelle
recherche postérieure sur ce passage. Mais pour le moment, voici quelques
conclusions tirées des résultats de cette étude.
1. Dieu est l’créateur et l’assurance de la bénédiction dans le livre de
Nombres: “YHWH parla à Moïse en disant: parle à Aaron et à ses fils en
disant, voici comment vous bénirez les fils d’Israël.” Tout comme dans
n’importe quel aspect de l’histoire de la rédemption, Dieu est l’initiateur.
C’est pour dire combien chaque chose relative au plan du salut de
l’humanité est par grâce. C’est pour cela que, au fur et à mesure que nous
comprenons le contenu de la formule de bénédiction, celle-ci indique
Dieu comme “faisant grâce” aux humains. De la même manière que le
salut est par grâce, de même la bénédiction est aussi par grâce.
2. L’essence de la bénédiction est Dieu parlant bien des êtres humains, les
apprécier et rendant un bon témoignage d’eux. La bénédiction est, au-
delà toute autre considération, une relation d’amour et d’amitié avec
Dieu. Son aspect matériel est quelque part le résultat de cette bonne
relation, et Dieu, prend en compte les besoins de tout un chacun et les
plans qu’il a formé pour chacun. Si l’absence de biens matériels
n’implique pas nécessairement l’absence de bénédiction, de même la
Segorbe – La … bénédiction dans Nombres 6:22-27… 301
Abstract
In Nineveh’s social structure, the Assyrian deity Ishtar incarnated the quest of an
eclectic balance between chaos and order. The Ninevites conceived her as the
goddess of sex, fertility, war, violence, and healing. Assyrian iconography shows the
dichotomy: mostly a goddess with sex appeal, however Ishtar is also represented as
a bearded powerful warrior. This ideology is better understood in light of the rituals
practiced in her worship. Such practices involved sexual intercourse between a high
priestess and the king or “Sacred Marriage”, and between priestesses and
worshippers or cultic prostitution. By the evidence, it may be assumed that ritualistic
sex took place in the proximity of the temple precinct, since it was the place where
Ishtar dwelled. So, Ishtar seems to be presented as a meeting point between chaos
and order. At least that is what some of her rituals tend to portray. She seems to be
a mysterious goddess and her temples apparently also reflect the Ninevites’ theology
in its design.
Resumen
Para la estructura social de Nínive, la deidad asiria Ishtar encarna la búsqueda de un
equilibrio ecléctico entre el caos y el orden. Los ninivitas la concibieron como la diosa
del sexo, la fertilidad, la guerra, la violencia y la curación. La iconografía asiria muestra
la dicotomía: mayormente una diosa con atractivo sexual, pero Ishtar también es
representada como un poderoso guerrero barbudo. Esta ideología se entiende mejor
1 Abelardo Rivas, PhD in Religion (AT) at Andrews University (2015), a Chilean born, is
assistant professor at Union College, Boston, MA. E-mail: arivas@andrews.edu
304 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Résumé
Pour la structure sociale de Ninive, la divinité assyrienne Ishtar incarne la recherche
d’un équilibre éclectique entre le chaos et l’ordre. Les Ninivites la concevaient comme
la déesse du sexe, de la fertilité, de la guerre, de la violence et de la guérison.
L’iconographie assyrienne montre la dichotomie: principalement une déesse avec
sex-appeal, mais Ishtar est également représenté comme un puissant guerrier barbu.
Cette idéologie est mieux comprise aux rituels pratiqués dans son culte. De telles
pratiques impliquaient des relations sexuelles entre une grande prêtresse et le roi ou
le « mariage sacré », et entre prêtresses et adorateurs ou prostitution cultuelle.
D’après les éléments de preuve, on peut supposer que le sexe rituel a eu lieu à
proximité de l’enceinte du temple, puisque c’était l’endroit où habitait Ishtar. Ainsi,
Ishtar semble être présenté comme un point de passage entre le chaos et l’ordre. Au
moins c’est ce que certains de ses rituels ont tendance à décrire. Elle semble être une
déesse mystérieuse et ses tempes reflètent apparemment aussi la théologie de
Ninevites dans sa conception.
M OST societies seek a balance between chaos and order. Some tried
to achieve the balance by building the model of an “ideal” society,
a utopia to be attained. Others have made efforts to describe what
chaos is, in order to distinguish “evil” and encourage following the orderly
opposite. On the other hand, some societies have developed an eclectical idea
of chaos and order within the same model. The Assyrian deity Ishtar
incarnates that function for Nineveh’s social structure: a mixture of what to
avoid and what to seek. This article briefly explores how the Ninevites
conceived this goddess and how the temple they built in her honor, reflected
such realities.
Rivas – Deities of Nineveh… 305
2 A. J. Ferrara, "Review: In Praise of Ištar," Journal of the American Oriental Society 120, no. 2
(2000): 199.
3 André Parrot, Le Temple D'ishtar, Mission Archéologique De Mari 1; Bibliothèque
Archéologique Et Historique, 65 (Paris, Francia: Geuthner, 1956), 126.
4 W. G. Lambert, "Ishtar of Niniveh," in Nineveh: Papers of the XLIXe Rencontre Assyriologique
Internationale, London, 7-11 July 2003, ed. Dominique Collon and Andrew R. George
(London, England: British School of Archaeology in Iraq (Gertrude Bell Memorial) - MBI
Foundation, 2005), 36.
5 This may be in reference to her title “Lady of heavens.” However, some have expressed
doubt about either of the options: one star versus goddess of all the stars.
6 George A. Barton, "The Semitic Ištar Cult," Hebraica 9, no. 3/4 (1893): 133.
7 Lambert, 38.
306 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
8 Saana Teppo, “Sacred marriage and the devotees of Istar”, in Sacred Marriages: The Divine-
Human Sexual Metaphor from Sumer to Early Christianity, ed. by Martti Nissinen and Risto Uro
(Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2008), 75.
9 Izak Cornelius, "Aspects of the Iconography of the Warrior Goddess Ištar and Ancient
Near Eastern Prophecies," in Images and Prophecy in the Ancient Eastern Mediterranean, ed.
Martti Nissinen and Charles E. Carter (Gottingen, Germany: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht,
2009), 30.
10 Ibid., 31.
Rivas – Deities of Nineveh… 307
The eclectical idea of chaos and order are evident in Ishtar as she is presented
as a source of love, but also uncontrollable passion. Ishtar is a violent
goddess, but also the only source of stability under Assyrian control. The
dichotomy between some of her titles, like merciful, and her behavior cannot
be overlooked. Indeed, it seems as if the Assyrians obtained their violent
reputation in conjunction with the worship of this goddess. She has been
depicted slaying people, always in warfare attire, submitting her many
husbands to severe punishments, as in the case of Dumuzi, and inflicting
terrible plagues on other nations.11 However, the kings appeal to her as a
goddess of healing and mercy, of course, only towards Assyria or their
kingship. In this sense, she heals, provides wine and other resources, chose
kings when they are infants from the mountains, et al. Nevertheless, one way
to understand better the ideology of a deity is to take a look at the rituals
practiced in her worship.
11 Ibid.
308 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Sexual Rituals
Ishtar, the goddess of sex and war represented the eclectical idea of chaos
and order in Assyrian theology. On one hand, she is presented as ferocious
and sexually unappeasable, but at the same time, she was the mother who
nurtured. These concepts were very important for the fertility of the land.
The concept of fertility includes livestock, farming, and human reproduction
that were associated with Ishtar.
One of the most famous rituals involving Ishtar was the sacred marriage, that
will be will addressed later. There were other similar ritualistic practices which
had its origins with the cult of Ishtar. Practices that continued in other
religious traditions as the goddess’ worship developed in later societies. One
of such practices related to Ishtar was sexual intercourse between a priestess
or priest and the worshipper or cultic prostitution. Herodotus, remembering
to be cautious about his affirmations, describes an apparent sexual ritual
practiced in Babylon centuries after the Assyrians had lost preeminence in
the Ancient Near East.
The Babylonians have one of the most shameful customs. Every woman
born in the country must once in her life go and sit down in the precinct of
Aphrodite [=Ishtar], and there consort with a stranger. Many wealthier sort,
who are too proud to mix with others, drive in covered carriages to the
precinct, followed by a goodly train of attendants, and there take their
station. But the larger number seat themselves within the holy enclosure
with wreaths of string about their heads, and here there is always a great
crowd, some coming and others going; lines of cord marks out the paths in
all directions among the women, and the strangers pass along them to make
their choice. A woman who has once taken her seat is not allowed to return
home till one of the strangers throws a silver coin into her lap, and takes
her with him beyond the holy ground. When he throws the coin he says
these words: “The goddess Mylitta prosper thee.” (Aphrodite is called
Mylitta [=an Akkadian title of Ishtar, meaning “she who brings about
birth”] by the Assyrians). The silver coin may be of any size; it cannot be
refused, for that is forbidden by the law, since once thrown it is sacred. The
woman goes with the first man who throws her money, and rejects no one.
When she has gone with him, and so satisfied the goddess, she returns
home, and from that time forth no gift however great will prevail with her.
Such of the women as are tall and beautiful are soon released, but others
who are ugly have to stay a long time before they can fulfill the law. Some
have waited three or four years in the precinct. A custom very much like
this is found also in certain parts of the island of Cyprus. 12
12 Stephen Bertman, Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia (New York: Oxford University
Press, 2003), 134.
Rivas – Deities of Nineveh… 309
13 Gerda Lerner, "The Origin of Prostitution in Ancient Mesopotamia," Signs 11, no. 2 (1986):
243.
14 Julian Reade, "The Ishtar Temple at Nineveh," in Nineveh: Papers of the XLIXe Recontre
Assyriologique Internationale, London, 7-11 July 2003, ed. Andrew R. George and Dominique
Collon (London, England: British School of Archaeology in Iraq (Gertrude Bell Memorial)
- MBI Foundation, 2005), 366.
310 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
One may assume that there was a sexual ritual in the cult of Ishtar in the
Sacred Marriage. However, evidence seems to point that Ishtar had a number
of devotees that performed several functions, and one of them seems to be
cultic prostitution.
In discussing a type of “Sacred Marriage,” regarding the role of Ishtar’s
devotees, an author states that their main purpose was to be performers, as
in dancing and using musical instruments. However, they also had other
duties, which could have included sexual ritualistic practices. It has been
suggested that the devotees were male who sometimes acted as female and
male at various times. Such idea comes also from the gender ambivalence of
Ishtar herself, since she at times is represented as a female sexual
unappeasable goddess and at other times as a bearded warrior with male
attributes. Nevertheless, part of the cult could have involved sexual activity,
different from the most famous “Sacred Marriage” ritual only performed by
the king and the high priestess.
Aside from their cultic roles, or possible intertwined with them, the
devotees had a sexual role as well. They are often mentioned in association
with women who might have had sexual duties in the cult of Istar, namely
harimtu, kezertu, and sambatu. The kulu’u is called Istar’s “sweet bedfellow”
(salilu tabu) and lover (habbubu). Kurgarrus and Assinus also participated as
actors in a ritual that was possible aimed at a sexual rival. The evidence is
suggestive at best, but it seems possible that the devotees sometimes
participated in same sex relations. Nissinen argues that this type of sexual
contact was not an expression of sexual orientation of either partner but
that it meant touching the goddess through her earthly representative. In a
way, these “homosexual” contacts may be considered another type of
marriage with the goddess.15
While it is difficult to determine the exact nature of the sexual rituals
performed in honor of Ishtar, the evidence suggests that sexual acts were part
of the overall cult. Moreover, such were not limited to the Sacred Marriage
yearly reenactment done at the New Year Festival, but instead worshippers
were also involved in them along with the priests or priestesses in order to
reach the divine. Other questions to answer, therefore, are the when, how
often, and in which occasions. These are more difficult, since textual evidence
does not seem to answer them, but one can assume that they did happen.
Moreover, one can assume they did happen in relation to the worship of
Ishtar because the nature of the goddess, the number of seals or tablets
containing erotic scenes found at various temples, and textual evidence such
as the Sumerian Proverb pointing to the care a priest should exercise after
15 Teppo, 81.
Rivas – Deities of Nineveh… 311
the sexual relation in order not to disturb the cultic element. “When the
kalum-priest wiped his anus, (he said) ‘I must not excite that which belongs
to my lady Inanna!”16 Even though the Proverb itself seems to speak negative
towards the practice, yet it still supports that it could happen. Otherwise, why
would anyone write negative towards it?
On the other hand, in the Babylonian worship of Ishtar, one finds some
textual evidence that could be interpreted as pointing to the sexual nature of
the rituals dedicated to Ishtar. The found fragment does not specifically
mentions the performance of an explicit sexual act, however, the same
devotees are described, kurgarru and assinnu, performing dances and
insinuating sexual elements into the “Simanu” ritual.
In the morning the kurgarru goes to the temple E-me-urur, which is located
in the east Babylon and dedicated to Nanay, a goddess closely associated
with Ishtar and E-tur-kalamma. He faces east and, without going inside the
cult-room itself, he throws fruits ana kidanu ekurri. Since he is standing in
the temple, though not in the rooms devoted to the deity, but in a position
to throw things “at the outside of the cult-room,” I take this to mean that
the kurgarru stands in the temple’s central courtyard aiming the fruits at the
wall behind which lies the cella of Nanay. In the afternoon the female
personnel (bitanatu) of E-tur-kalamma join together in a celebration which
includes more throwing of fruit, this time at the cult-rooms of Belet-Babili’s
temple.17 The symbolism of the fruits, which are specified as the hashuru
and the pomegranate, is that they were considered to be aphrodisiacs, and
their use in the cults of Nanay and Ishtar is in keeping with these goddesses’
patronage of sexual love.18
It is important to notice the fragment is incomplete and one could assume
that certain parts of the ritual appear to be prohibited to describe in the text.
It is possible to suggest that the sexual intercourse could be described in the
missing fragments. In spite of the lack of the textual evidence, there is some
chance that sexual intercourse could have formed part of the overall ritual.
Yet, no textual evidence verifies such speculation. On the other hand, there
is evidently a connection with the use of the pomegranate which was
associated with sex and also with Ishtar.
Other scholars suggest to the sexual element on the cult of Ishtar. Indeed, it
has been argued that commercial prostitution has its origin in cultic
prostitution. On the other hand, that kind of assertion is hard to be proven
16 Ibid., 84.
17 Babylonian name for Ishtar of Babylon.
18 Andrew R. George and Irving L. Finkel, eds., Wisdom, Gods and Literature: Studies in Assyriology
in Honour of W.G. Lambert (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2000), 272.
312 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
historically, since they both existed together. It is likely that cultic prostitution
contributed to the promiscuity present in commercial prostitution.
Nevertheless, the concern of this study is with ritualistic sexual practices and
their association with Ishtar and her temple. In this regard an author notes:
Cultic sexual service by men and women may date back to the Neolithic
age and to various cults of the Mother-Goddess or of the so-called Great
Goddess in her many manifestations. The archeological evidence of the
existence of female figurines, with emphasized breasts, hips, and buttocks,
is abundant all over Europe, the Mediterranean, and Eastern Asia. In many
places such figurines were found in what archeologists have interpreted as
shrines, but there is no way of our knowing in what manner these figurines
were used or worshiped. Nor will we ever know. In contrast, we have ample
historically valid evidence linguistic, literary, pictorial, and legal from which
we can reconstruct the worship of female goddesses and the lives and
activities of priestesses in Ancient Mesopotamia and in the Neo-Babylonian
period. The ancient Babylonians thought of the gods and goddesses as
actually dwelling in the temple, not as symbolically represented there. The
staff of the temple, the various ranks of priests and priestesses, artisans,
workmen, and slaves, all labored to care for and feed the gods as they might
have labored to care for and feed a lord. Daily, the meals were carefully
prepared and set out for the god, his bed was prepared, and music was
played for his entertainment. For people who regarded fertility 19 as sacred
and essential to their own survival, the caring for the gods included, in some
cases, offering them sexual services. Thus, a separate class of temple
prostitutes developed. What seems to have happened was that sexual
activity for and in behalf of the god or goddesses was considered beneficial
to the people and sacred. The practices varied with the gods, the different
places, and different periods. There was also, especially in the later period,
commercial prostitution, which flourished near or within the temple. 20
Again, modern scholars have been confusing the issue by referring to all of
this activity as prostitution and by using the term "hierodule" without
distinction for various types of women engaging in cultic or commercial
sexual activity. It is only since 1956, when the first volume of the Chicago
Assyrian Dictionary appeared, that it is possible to make more accurate use
of the terms and distinguish, as the Babylonians did, different types of
temple servants.21
The writer is mentioning the Babylonians as a point of reference; one could
argue that the same practices and ideas were preeminent in the Assyrian
19 Such was the case of Ishtar as a goddess of fertility. Therefore, this concept applies to her.
20 It is highly debatable which constituted commercial prostitution or cultic prostitution.
However, if it happened in the Temple, it is safer to consider it cultic prostitution and not
commercial.
21 Lerner, 239.
Rivas – Deities of Nineveh… 313
empire. This can be suggested by the erotic scene cylinder found in Ishtar’s
temple at Nineveh. Moreover, Babylon, as well as all the Mesopotamia area,
was under Assyrian domination and their culture was very similar, and even
the gods and goddesses were shared. Thus, the city of Babylon has the
Ishtar’s gate and the city of Nineveh a temple of Nabu. Indeed, the cult of
Ishtar was extremely important in the Babylonian society.
In the Old Babylonian period, the daughters of kings and rulers were
appointed as high priestesses of the Moon-God or of the Goddess Ishtar.
The en or entu priestesses were the counterparts of male high priests. They
wore distinctive clothing, a cap with raised rim, a folded garment, jewelry,
and a staff, the same insignia and garments worn by the ruler. They lived
inside the sacred shrine, had charge of temple management and affairs,
performed ritual and ceremonial functions, and were usually unmarried.
The nin-dingir priestess in ancient Sumer had a similar role. Assyriologists
believe that it is this class of women who annually participated in the Sacred
Marriage, impersonating or representing the goddess. 22
It is important to distinguish between the sexual ritual involved in the Sacred
Marriage practice, evoked in the previous quotation, and other sexual
ritualistic activity carried out by priests or priestesses at the temple.
Findings discussed thus far show, then, that by the middle of the first
millennium B.C., if not earlier, there were two kinds of sexual activities
carried on in or near the temples: sexual rites that were part of the religious
ritual and commercial prostitution… Some linguistic evidence sheds light
on the actual development of prostitution. The Sumerian word for female
prostitute, kar.kid, occurs in the earliest lists of professions dating back to
ca. 2400 B.C. Since it appears right after nam.lukur, which means "naditu-
ship," one can assume its connection with temple service. It is of interest
that the term kur-garru, a male prostitute or transvestite entertainer, appears
on the same list but together with entertainers. This linkage results from a
practice connected with the cult of Ishtar, in which transvestites performed
acts using knives. On the same list we find the following female
occupations: lady doctor, scribe, barber, cook. Obviously, prostitution,
while it is a very old profession, is not the oldest. Prostitutes continue to
appear on several later lists of professions in the Middle Babylonian period.
On a seventh-century B.C. list there appear a variety of female entertainers,
as well as transvestites, along with a midwife, nurse, sorceress, wet nurse,
and "a gray haired old lady." Prostitutes are listed again as kar.kid and by
the Akkadian term harimtu. It is very interesting that among the twenty-five
scribes on this list, there is no female scribe and that the doctors include no
female doctors.23
22 Ibid.
23 Lerner, 245.
314 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Sacred Marriage
Perhaps the most famous ritual associated with Ishtar is the Sacred Marriage,
which was a reenactment of the wedding between this famous Mesopotamian
goddess and her husband Dumuzi. I will not analyze in detail this ritual, since
it is beyond the scope of this article, but I will describe it and also argue that
such ritual was not only associated with Ishtar but with time came to be
associated with Nabu and his wife.
The basis for the ritual of the Sacred Marriage was the belief that fertility of
the land and of people depended on the celebration of the sexual power of
the fertility goddess. It is likely that this rite originated in the Sumerian city
of Uruk, which was dedicated to the Goddess Inanna, earlier than 3000
B.C. The Sacred Marriage was that of the Goddess Inanna and either the
high priestess, representing the god, or the king, identified with the God
Dumuzi. In one typical poem, the encounter is initiated by the goddess,
who expresses her eagerness for union with her lover. After their union,
the land blossoms forth: "Plants rose high by his side, / Grains rose high
by his side...." The goddess, happy and satisfied, promises to bless the house
of her husband, the shepherd/king: "My husband, the goodly storehouse,
24 Ibid.
Rivas – Deities of Nineveh… 315
the holy stall, /I Inanna, will preserve you for, / I will watch over your
'house of life. 25
There are many cylinder seals, tablets,
and vases that describe the ritual and its
connections to the land’s fertility. A
prime example of such is the following
Uruk base depicting a naked priest
bringing gifts to Innana at the doorpost:
26
25 Ibid., 240.
26 Claudia E. Suter, "Human, Divine or Both? The Uruk Vase and the Problem of Ambiguity
in Early Mesopotamian Visual Arts," in Critical Approaches to Ancient Near Eastern Art, ed.
Brian A. Brown and Marian H. Feldman (Berlin, Germany: De Gruyter, 2014), 554.
27 Lerner, 240.
316 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
and customs. It varies, depending on the city, the deity, and the local culture
in the details, on how it is performed. Obviously, its description is full of
sexual imagery and the only detail that seems to be prevailing in all its forms
is the sexual union between a royalty and a priest or priestess symbolizing the
union between the deities. In this regard, it is important to notice that the
Sacred Marriage was not limited to Ishtar/Innana.
In the following letter from an officer, most likely a priest, to the Assyrian
king Esarhaddon on 670 BC, the sender associates the Sacred Marriage with
Nabu.
On the 3rd day of Iyyar in the city of Calah the bed of Nabu will be prepared;
Nabu will enter the bed-chamber.28 On the 4th the return of Nabu (will take
place). The crown prince knows (that) I am the overseer of the Temple of
Nabu, your god; I intend to go to Calah. The god will come out from the
dark shrine of the palace; when he goes from the shrine of the palace into
the park, a sacrifice will be offered there. The charioteer of the deity will go
into the sacred stable; he will bring forth the god and carry (him) in the
procession; (then) he will bring him in (again). He, proceeding with solemn
pace, will go his way. The merchants who have their sacrifices ready shall
perform them. Whoever offers 1 qa of his food may eat in the temple of
Nabu. Let (the officiating priests) complete carefully the prescribed rites of
their deity for the preservation of the life of the crown prince my lord; let
them do whatever the crown prince my lord shall write. May Bel and Nabu,
who in the month of Shebat grant protection, guard the life of the crown
prince my lord. May they prolong your reign to the end of time. 29
The letter involves a procession from his chamber, Nabu, to the bed chamber
with his wife Bel or Tamestu. In another tablet or letter the Sacred Marriage,
the name for the deities having a sexual union, is even specified clearer.
“Tomorrow, (that is) on the 4th (of Iyyar) toward evening, Nabu and
Tashmetum will enter the bedchamber. On the 5th, they shall be given of the
king’s food to eat.”30 Again, the same idea of the deities leaving their
accustom chambers or cellar within the temple precinct to join together
sexually is present in this Assyrian ritual involving Nabu and his wife. Some
scholars have argued that there are various types of sacred marriages even
involving devotees with the deities.31
The fact is that Sacred Marriage is not exclusively of Ishtar/Innana and there
seems to be no one standard way in which the ritual was performed. Not
surprisingly, in spite of all its forms and different ways cities conceived this
ritual; the sexual imagery is always a predominant factor just as it is the union
between two deities. Although some scholars would like to imply that the
sexual act was merely symbolically represented and not performed, there
seems to be enough textual evidence that such is not the case but that it
indeed involved sexual activity. 32
32 Bottero, 154-158.
318 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
33 Reade, 356.
34 Parrot, II.
RESEÑAS BIBLIOGRÁFICAS
por Lewis A. Drummond (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2002; 301
páginas; tapa blanda).
A medida que nos vamos adentrando en este nuevo milenio, vemos cómo a
pasos acelerados van cambiando las cosas y los escenarios. Podemos plantear
sin temor a equivocarnos, que el mundo en el que vivimos es definitivamente
una aldea global. Los avances científicos y tecnológicos han hecho que las
distancias geográficas se acorten. Con la llegada del internet y la invención de
las redes sociales, la intercomunicación global es un hecho certero. Podemos
conectarnos con cualquier parte del mundo desde nuestros teléfonos
inteligentes y nos enteramos de los sucesos mundiales casi en el momento
mismo en que estos ocurren. Hoy día son muchos los que hacen alarde de
cuantos amigos tienen en “Facebook” o de los seguidores que ostentan en
“Twitter”. En fin, el mundo está ahora al alcance de la mano, al toque de un
dedo.
El autor de Reaching Generation Next, Lewis A. Drummond plantea la
necesidad que tenemos como iglesia cristiana de explorar nuevas formas y
estrategias para alcanzar a las nuevas generaciones con el evangelio de Cristo.
Se nos invita en este libro a dar una mirada a las nuevas realidades del mundo
en que vivimos y a los desafíos que enfrentamos como iglesia, para el
evangelismo tanto público como personal. Uno de estos desafíos que
tenemos por delante es el posmodernismo. A lo largo de la historia, la iglesia
1 El pastor Pedro M. Canales (DMin, PhD en Teología Aplicada) ha servido como pastor de
distrito, director de departamento, secretario ministerial, secretario y presidente de campo,
tanto en los Estados Unidos como en Puerto Rico. E-mail: pecanales1960@yahoo.com
320 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
The line between the sacred and secular is not as clear as some may claim,
especially when we study the development of the religion in Mesopotamia.
Along her survey of the major aspects of the Mesopotamian religion and the
tools the dedicated student can access, and the lack of them as well, Tammi
J. Schneider seems to place the emphasis of her argument in the idea that
most scholars aim to separate secular from religious. However, she sustains
such aspects are more intermingled that most studies suggest to the point
2 Abelardo Rivas (PhD in Religion), a Chilean born, is assistant professor at Union College,
Boston, MA. E-mail: arivas@andrews.edu
322 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
that one cannot understand one without the other. Schneider does an
excellent work introducing the most prevalent aspects of the religion in
Mesopotamia and outlining the principal elements in an academic survey of
the topic.
A significant contribution of her book is the simple language and
organization that allows for the uninformed reader to have a good tour
around the main components of the Religion of Mesopotamia. At the same
time the author is able to balance such simplicity with academic complexity
by presenting challenging ideas for the scholar that deserve research and
more in-depth consideration.
While Schneider seems to minimize the idea of individual devotion, Bottero
presents an interesting point of contrast by arguing more for the role of the
individual in the religion of Mesopotamia. Regarding all religions he states
“to stress the collective nature of religion from the outset is to forget that the
only real and primary elements of any society are the individuals who make
up that society and without whom it would not exist.”3 He later applies this
concept to the religion of Mesopotamia by pointing out that “everything in
the cultural tradition that had been received by all and sundry beginning in
childhood and reinforced through education, and which governed … each
person’s life, all that was normative, in every realm of human behavior was
seen as the express will of the gods (collectively) and therefore constituted
nothing other than their intervention in our conduct and our lives
(individually).”4 Yet Schneider contradicts such a point of view by adding that
such seems to be an imported idea. “Western scholarship has been heavily
influenced by Christianity, and the view of what ‘counts’ as religion and what
does not often influence more by how any set of belief systems and practices
correlated to those espoused by Christianity at the time and within a
particular denomination of Christianity.” As an example of such influence
Schneider cites: “Christianity has a significant focus on personal belief and
private devotion, elements almost completely absent from the records in
Mesopotamia” (p. 5). While one may not find a personal book of prayers in
an excavated house in cities like Nineveh, Ur, Lagash or Assur, that does not
mean that the elements of personal devotion or domestic cultic activities were
almost absent. Indeed, there had to be a component of personal religion in
order for the monarchs to use it as state religion and as political propaganda
with the intention of persuading the common people that the king had the
3 Jean Bottéro and Teresa Lavender Fagan, Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia (Chicago, IL:
University of Chicago Press, 2004), 2.
4 Ibid., 105.
Reseñas bibliográficas 323
favor of the deities the people find themselves more devoted to. Another
important piece of evidence relies in personal letters addressed to different
monarchs in which the favors of the gods are invoked towards the monarch
again indicating elements of personal religion. Even in the development of
temples one can see that they started in private dwellings as an expression of
the religiosity or belief of a family and consequently as indicators of personal
devotion.5 Finally, the number of cultic material found in domestic context
such as figurines, clay plaques (Tell Khafajeh)6 and other objects also testifies
to a personal devotion, not comparable to a modern religious idea of personal
devotion, but present in ancient Mesopotamian religion.
Another important idea that Schneider correctly points out in the book, and
at the same time contrast with the opposition to personal devotion, is the
relationship between the Mesopotamian gods and humans. “The key
component to understanding most of Mesopotamian religion is the
relationship between humans and their deities. In the Mesopotamian world
view of the world… people were on earth to serve the gods.”7 Indeed
Schneider correctly states that the textual evidence “suggests that this is the
world populated by humans and gods, and the role for humans is to figure
out how to best appease the gods.”8 The world view of the Mesopotamian
was focus on the now. Therefore, for them there was nothing beyond or
better. Indeed, when things were going well it was because the favor of the
gods were bestowed upon the nation, usually represented in the figure of the
king/priest. On the other hand, when the contrary was reality, then the gods
must be angry.9 Moreover, the entire purpose of the use of divination was
precisely to understand the relationship between unfortunate events either in
the fate of the nation or in the life of an individual and the wrath or favor of
the gods.
Perhaps one criticism to the book is that while Schneider does an excellent
job surveying the different elements of the Mesopotamian Religion such as
deities, cities, temples, myth, rituals, etc.; the author dedicates little space to
the discussion of tools available for such study which seems to be one of the
5 Gregory J. Wightman, Sacred Spaces: Religious Architecture in the Ancient World (Louvain,
Belgium: Peeters, 2007), 4-7.
6 Michael Roaf, Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East (New York, NY:
Equinox, 1990), 77.
7 Ibid., 126.
8 Ibid., 100.
9 Thorkild Jacobsen, The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion (New Haven,
CN: Yale University Press, 1978), 79-81.
324 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
major objectives of the book (p. 126). The author argues that such tools have
been traditionally limited to text and beliefs (p. 9). However, she correctly
points out that when one considers how mixed are other elements from the
Mesopotamian life with religious aspects and how religious acts, such as the
Akitu festival, had political and secular connotations,10 then the spectrum of
tools to use suddenly broadens opening the venue to a much complex
paradigm. Perhaps a good example supporting Schneider thesis is the
architectural mixture of palaces and temples as seen in Nineveh where the
Temple of Ishtar is connected to the palace of Senacherib to the point that
one was access through the other11 or the use of secular festivals, such as the
lion hunting panels of Assurbanipal, ending with religious texts and with
cultic personnel offering libations.12
An introduction to Ancient Religion of Mesopotamia gives us the necessary
tools for a simple yet deep survey of not only the major components of the
complicated system of beliefs that formed the religious tenure of all the
nations that emerged in Mesopotamia but also raises significant questions as
to how we understand such components. While a more emphasis could have
been placed on the resources available for such study, Schneider does present
a corpus of ideas and challenges that will increase the desire for more
research. The book minimizes the role of individualism in the religions of
Mesopotamia and highlights the thin line separating the secular from the
religious, if such line exists. Yet it gives enough space for debate and
questions the normal status quo of our understanding how the common
people lived their religion asking us not to use our modern ideas of personal
devotion and impose them upon the Mesopotamians. Such seems to be a just
and correct request.
10 Stephen Bertman, Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2005), 130-132.
11 Abelardo Rivas, “A Comparative Study of the Architectural Features of the Temples of
Nabu, Ishtar, and Kidmuri with the Ritual Practices in Relation to These Deities”. Paper
presented at the American Schools of Oriental Research, San Francisco, CA,
November 2011.
12 Ibid.
ACTIVIDAD ACADÉMICA:
L. FERNANDO ORTIZ1
1 L. Fernando Ortiz, DMin, is Director of the Master of Divinity Program at the Adventist
Theological Seminary in Andrews University, Michigan, and Cuba Study Tour Leader. E-
mail: ortiz@andrews.edu
326 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
study tour to Cuba to practice what they have learned and completely
immerse the students in a new culture. They stay in local people’s homes (not
in hotels) and go door-to-door to either invite people to meetings or give
Bible studies to those already prepared by the local Bible workers. In the
mornings they receive training from the local pastors before going to the
field. This personal contact is what many of our students cherish and they
report that this way of evangelizing has revolutionized their lives and
ministry.
A Revolution
The revolution starts when the team, along with the participating local
churches, take a city by storm. Five different key sites are chosen, each one
holding their own evangelistic meeting. During our last tour, which took
place in Santiago de Cuba, the theme was “New Hope in Christ” because
Cubans who have almost nothing receive an incredible amount of hope in
listening to the gospel.
Dwight Nelson, lead pastor at Pioneer Memorial Church on the campus of
Andrews University, preached at one site, and our seminary students led the
meetings at the other four. Each site was packed to capacity every night. This
has given students a one-of-a-kind experience to preach to large audiences
and has ignited their passion for ministry. After each meeting, dozens came
forward to altar calls and many decided to accept Jesus as their personal
Savior. As a result, 277 people were baptized. Over the last weekend a local
convention center was secured and all sites converged for a moving final
celebration with about 2,000 in attendance, followed by a large-scale baptism.
Divine Appointments
In Cuba we experienced nothing short of a foretaste of the Latter Rain by a
number of “Divine appointments.” Here are a few stories, of hundreds, that
touched our lives.
Enter Isaac, 17, a Pathfinder leader at his church in Cuba who gives Bible
studies to 16 individuals every week. He is an inspiration and an example of
a life dedicated to soul-winning and a commitment to our mission. When
Isaac arrives home from school every day, his priority is his Bible studies, and
if there is time, he says, “I’ll do my homework.” He is an A student. But more
than anything he is an “A” soul-winner.
Ortiz – Making History with Study Tours in Cuba 327
Another divine appointment was with Miguel, a Cuban veteran with only one
leg and whose house was destroyed by hurricane Sandy in 2012, forcing him
to live under a small shelter. Although he has to walk with a crutch, he came
to the meetings every night. When our Andrews students gave him a Bible,
he came the next day with the Bible so underlined you would think he had
had it for months. A veteran for his country, Miguel is now a soldier for Jesus.
We also saw Jesus’ power in Liuska’s mother, who, as a Santera, had many
idols in her home. When her daughter tried to give her Bible studies and warn
her about her ways, she refused. But our students visited her and befriended
her. After a lot of prayer, she decided to give up her witchcraft. So she cleaned
her house of all idols. Now she is no longer afraid of spirits but is studying
the Bible and is in the process of learning how to trust the one true living
God.
Problema
En esta investigación se planteó la siguiente pregunta: ¿El conocimiento de
la doctrina de la mayordomía cristiana, el compromiso con la iglesia, las
prácticas administrativas de los líderes y la identificación con la iglesia son
predictores de la fidelidad en la devolución de diezmos y ofrendas de los
directivos y miembros de tres distritos de la Iglesia Adventista de Campeche,
Campeche, México?
Metodología
Esta investigación es de tipo cuantitativo con alcance descriptivo, explicativa
y transversal. La población que se utilizó estuvo conformada por directivos y
miembros de las iglesias de tres distritos de la ciudad de Campeche,
Campeche, México. La muestra fue de 183 sujetos. El proceso estadístico
sustantivo se basó en el análisis de regresión múltiple, realizado en el paquete
330 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
estadístico Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), versión 15.0
para Windows.
Resultados
Los resultados obtenidos después de aplicar la prueba estadística mencionada
indican que el modelo es significativo (F(1.87) = 43.361, = 000), por lo que
se rechaza la hipótesis nula y se acepta que únicamente las variables
conocimiento de la doctrina (B = .416, p = .000) y la identidad en la
devolución de los diezmos y ofrendas. El modelo explica el 48.2 por ciento
de la varianza de la fidelidad en la devolución de los diezmos y ofrendas.
Conclusiones
Por los valores encontrados se determinó que el conocimiento de la doctrina
y la identidad con la iglesia son los predictores significativos de la fidelidad
en la devolución de los diezmos y ofrendas. Se puede afirmar que lo que
determina la fidelidad en la devolución de los diezmos y ofrendas de los
directivos y miembros de las iglesias de los tres distritos de la ciudad de
Campeche, Campeche, México, es que conozcan la doctrina sobre la
mayordomía cristiana y mantengan la identidad con la iglesia.
Tesis DMin Defendidas 331
Problema
El estilo de liderazgo y el conocimiento de las doctrinas como predictores de
la identidad eclesiástica en los miembros de la Iglesia Adventista Central de
Tuxtla Gutiérrez en la Asociación Centro de Chiapas, Chiapas, México.
Metodología
La investigación fue empírica cuantitativa, descriptiva, exploratoria y
transversal. Se estudió la población de miembros de la Iglesia Adventista
Central de Tuxtla Gutiérrez, en la Asociación Centro de Chiapas, Chiapas,
México. Se administró un instrumento en el 2013 a un total de 130 miembros
de iglesia. El proceso estadístico se basó en el análisis de regresión múltiple,
realizado en SPSS 15.0
Resultados
Al realizar el análisis de regresión múltiple se encontró que la variable grado
de estilo liderazgo y grado de conocimiento de las doctrinas explicó el 38.7%
de la varianza de la variable dependiente grado de identidad eclesiástica. El
valor de r2 corregida fue igual a 0.000, que permitió determinar que existió
una influencia lineal positiva y significativa. El valor de p es menor a 0.05 lo
que expresa la hipótesis. A la vez es el punto de partida para aceptar como
confiables los valores de los coeficientes B no estandarizados, que indican el
332 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Conclusiones
Con el apoyo de las técnicas estadísticas y para la muestra considerada, se
pudo concluir que las variables predictoras estilo de liderazgo y el
conocimiento de las doctrinas, tiene un grupo de influencia lineal y
significativa de la identidad eclesiástica en los miembros de la Iglesia
Adventista Centro de Chiapas, Chiapas, México. Siendo el liderazgo
transformacional el que obtuvo más peso en la predicción hacia la identidad
eclesiástica.
Tesis DMin Defendidas 333
Problema
En esta investigación se planteó la siguiente pregunta: La mentalidad
posmoderna de los jóvenes adventista de la ciudad de Puebla, ¿es predictor
de la predicación adventista contemporánea?
Metodología
Esta investigación es de tipo cuantitativo con alcance descriptivo,
correlacional y transversal. La población que se estudio estuvo conformada
por jóvenes de cuatro distritos de la ciudad de Puebla. La muestra fue de 200
jóvenes con ideas posmodernas de la ciudad de puebla. El proceso estadístico
se basó en el análisis de coeficiente de correlación r de Pearson, realizado en
el paquete Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), versión 15.0 para
Windows.
Resultados
Al realizar el análisis de regresión se encontró que la variable grado de
mentalidad posmoderna explicó el 61.3 por ciento de la varianza de la variable
dependiente nivel de predicación adventista contemporánea. El valor r2
corregida fue igual a .613. De igual manera se obtuvo el valor f igual a 317.204
334 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
Conclusiones
Se realizaron las pruebas estadísticas necesarias para realizar los datos
obtenidos de la aplicación del instrumento a la muestra. Por los valores
encontrados se determinó que existe una relación lineal positiva y significativa
en grado alto entre la mentalidad posmoderna y la predicación adventista
contemporánea de los jóvenes adventistas de cuatro distritos de la ciudad de
Puebla. Se puede afirmar que la mentalidad posmoderna tiene un alto grado
de predicción o influencia de la predicación adventista contemporánea de los
jóvenes adventistas.
Tesis DMin Defendidas 335
Problem
The Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Church in Montego Bay has been without
a workable and sustainable manual that will enable it to identify, develop and
utilize its spiritual gifts “for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the
body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12, KJV). The lack of a defined strategy to
discover, improve and position spiritual gifts has negatively impacted gift-
based ministry.
Method
A theology of ministry and mission was employed within a biblical
framework. Accentuating Scriptural references about spiritual gifts, such as>
Matthew 25:14-30; 28:19-20; Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; 1 Peter
4:7-11 with particular emphasis on Ephesians 4:12, brought focus on the
equipping of the saints or the work of their ministries. A review of the
literature on discipleship training was done in order to ascertain best practices
on the subject. This includes subject matters such as: assimilating new
members, identifying, developing and utilizing spiritual gifts. A survey
questionnaire was used to ascertain how equipped leaders and members were
336 TeoBiblica 2.1-2 (2016)
for their assigned task. Statistical analysis of the data obtained from
participants provided results which either supported or disproved different
research hypotheses. For the purpose of the analysis, items on the Likert scale
were regrouped for the chi-square analysis.
Sources
The literature accessed contains publications in print and soft copy. Included
are books, journal articles, and scholarly websites on extensive research on
spiritual gifts and pastoral administration.
Conclusion
A deliberate and defined strategy for spiritual gifts administration, if
employed, will assist empowered leadership in the church to identify and
develop the spiritual gifts of the Montego Bay congregants. Consequently,
the template designed may be used to assist members work in areas or
ministries which are compatible with their gifts. This should have a positive
core effect on discipleship expansion for the Kingdom of God.